


One Call Away

by actlikesummer



Category: Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, Chicago PD (TV), Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Kara Danvers Needs a Hug, Kara Danvers is Kara Halstead, Kara Danvers is Supergirl, Protective Jay, Protective Kara Danvers, Worried Jay Halstead
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:42:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 60
Words: 80,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27622901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/actlikesummer/pseuds/actlikesummer
Summary: Instead of taking Kara to live with the Danvers family, her cousin brought her to Chicago to live with the Halstead family. Having promised to keep her past and powers a secret from her new brothers, she grew up as a normal child. But when Jay faces a life or death situation, Kara realizes that she can't keep her powers a secret any longer.
Relationships: Jay Halstead & Hailey Upton, Jay Halstead & Will Halstead, Kara Danvers & Winn Schott Jr., Kara Zor-El & Jay Halstead, Kara Zor-El & Randy "Mouch" McHolland, Kara Zor-El & Trudy Platt, Kara Zor-El & Will Halstead, Randy ''Mouch'' McHolland/Trudy Platt, Will Halstead/Natalie Manning
Comments: 34
Kudos: 108





	1. Intro

My name is Kara Zor-El. Twenty-four years ago, my planet, Krypton, was in serious peril. My cousin, Kal-El, was sent to a planet called Earth for his own safety and protection.

You may know his story.

The story you don’t know is that I was sent to protect him.

_Kara jumped at each explosion that happened around her. She was young but old enough to know that her planet and everything she’d ever known was dying right in front of her. Holding her mother’s hand, she dashed to the pod bay and watched as her aunt and uncle sent her cousin away._

_Looking up at her father, she saw that he was scared but trying to hide it. “Your pod’s coordinates are interlocked with Kal-El’s. You will follow him to Earth.”_

_“I’m not afraid, Father,” Kara told him honestly._

_In reality, she was sad. She knew that these were the last moments she had with her parents, and although she knew it was for the best, she did not want to say goodbye._

_Holding her hands, her mother knelt to her level. “The trip is long, but you’ll sleep most of the way, and we’ll be with you in your dreams. You’ll journey to Earth to look after your baby cousin, Kal-El. Because of the Earth’s yellow sun, you’ll have great powers on this planet. You will do extraordinary things.”_

_With tears now building in her eyes, Kara gripped her mother’s hands. “I won’t fail Kal-El or you.”_

_Kissing her daughter’s head, Alura spoke confidently. “I love you, Kara.”_

_An explosion hit close to the bay, causing the ground to shake violently. Kara held onto her mother as tightly as she could and looked out at her crumbling home._

_“You must go now,” Alura told her._

_Nodding, Kara walked to her pod before hesitating. Then she ran back into her mother’s arms and held in a sob as she held her family for the last time._

_“Go!” Her mother finally pulled away and watched as her daughter ran to the pod._

_Sitting inside, Kara felt the shield go up around her and sat back as it took off. Turning, she watched as her parents left her field of vision, and her life changed forever._

Things didn’t exactly go according to my mother’s plan. Krypton’s destruction sent a shock wave that knocked my pod off course and into the Phantom Zone. A region in space where time doesn’t pass. I slept there for twenty-four years until somehow I got here.

When I arrived, I was still a thirteen-year-old girl. But in that time, my cousin Kal-El had grown up and revealed himself to the world as Superman. The most powerful man in the universe.

My cousin wanted me to have the same safe human-type childhood he did. So he placed me with my adoptive family, the Halsteads. Eliza Halstead, my adoptive mother, was a scientist who once helped him understand his own super abilities.

They had two sons, Will and Jay. And despite being born on different planets, though they weren’t aware of that, we all shared one thing: we knew our lives would never be the same again.

My cousin didn’t need my protection. I didn’t have a mission anymore. But even though I had all the same powers he did, I decided the best thing I could do was fit in. After all, Earth didn’t need another hero.

I work, for now, in the technology department at CatCo Worldwide Media. An online and print empire built by my boss, Cat Grant. The most powerful woman in Chicago...at least, for the next few days.


	2. Fired

“Listen, I’ve done my part of this. I sent on the information I gathered to my director, and he should be getting on it as we speak.”

“Okay, but why isn’t my internet going any faster?”

Kara stared at the man in front of him, blinking slowly. “Because it’s sick today, Bill.”

The man glared at her while raising his voice. “You better get that internet working, or Miss Grant is going to be pissed.”

Then he turned and left the room, slamming the door behind him. Kara lowered her head and slowly, repeatedly, banged her head against the top of her desk. Across from her, her best friend, Winn Schott Jr., just laughed at her.

“You know better than to try and reason with him.” He snorted, watching as she gave him the finger. “Hey, did you hear? There was an armored car robbery last night. Now, there were no witnesses except for this homeless guy who swears the perp had horns…like, on his head!”

Kara laughed nervously as she shook her head. “Winn…”

“I’m telling you, they’re out there.” He smiled at her. “Aliens!”

“Winn, there are no such things as aliens.” Kara smiled at him, having had years of practice keeping the secret out of her eyes and smile.

“You might feel differently if you read this website.” He told her, ignoring the sound of the doorknob turning.

“You write that website!” She laughed.

“I contribute…” He stammered.

“What now, you got another conspiracy theory, Schott?”

Looking up at her older brother, Kara nodded. “Aliens. They exist.”

“Of course,” Jay smirked as he dropped a bag on her desk. “The barista that packaged these donuts for me was blue. Had to be alien.”

“Okay, just shut up, both of you.” Winn waved away the detective.

Kara opened the bag in confusion, and then her jaw dropped. “You brought me two dozen crullers. What do you want?”

“What?” He shrugged and perched himself on the corner of her desk. “I can’t just bring my little sister her favorite morning snack and say hi?”

“No.”

He sighed. “Fine. I was wondering if you’d help me out with something.”

“What’s up?” She asked, sensing the serious cop tone he was slipping into his voice.

“We’re tracking down the drug dealer who is responsible for at least half and dozen deaths in the last two days. Our tech guys are swamped with work right now, and Voight’s out on this one. I need this,” Jay handed her the phone. “searched for whatever is on it.”

“Jesus.” Winn shook his head. “Six dead in two days?”

“Yeah, this shit is nuts. But I figured if anyone could help us out on this one, it would be this crazy one.” Jay teased.

“Hey, don’t call the person who just hacked a phone crazy.” She raised her brow at him.

“You’re in already?” He came around her desk and leaned over her shoulder to read the screen.

“Why do you always sound so surprised?” She rolled her eyes. “It looks like over the last three days, he’s made…damn, twenty-two phone calls to one number.” Her fingers ran over the keys at a speed that rivaled Usain Bolt on a track, a feat Jay could never figure out how she managed. “It’s a burner phone linked to…Pilsen?”

“Pilsen? Are you sure?”

She nodded, and her printer started up. “Definitely. The name comes back to an Ernesto Varga.”

“How did you get a name off of a burner phone?” He asked as he grabbed the papers.

“It’s me…I can do just about anything.” She quipped.

Kissing her hair, he nearly ran from the room. “You’re the best. I owe you.”

“No hurry. Just get these guys.” She told him.

Waving, he was almost to the door when he turned around and smiled at her. “Also, why isn’t the internet working yet?”

He ducked to avoid the stapler she’d thrown at him and laughed as he let the door shut.

Shaking her head, she growled at him. “I hate you!” Looking at Winn, she raised her brow again. “You have something to say?”

The man in question held his hands out in surrender. “Nope. Nothing…except, seriously, don’t knock the alien thing. You never know, Kara.”

“I guess that’s true.” She told him. “But I still say they don’t exist. So don’t be expecting to run into one any time soon.”

* * *

Over a week later, Kara sat in the same spot staring at the television screen with almost a dozen other tech employees. She felt Winn’s arm go around her shoulders as they watched the news coverage of an apartment building burning and people running everywhere.

Their friends at Firehouse 51, whom they’d met through her brothers, were there with many other houses, but Kara had only one thought on her mind.

“Kara…is that?” Winn observed her closely.

“My dad’s place.” She nodded. “Yeah, it is.”

“Didn’t he like, just have surgery?”

She nodded again. “Yep. Heart surgery. Now a fire. This is insane.”

“You should go.” He told her. “I mean…a family emergency has to be reason enough to take a day off.”

Biting her lip, she went to respond when her phone rang. Seeing that it was Will, she grabbed it instantly. “Will.”

“Hey, I can’t really talk, but Dad’s here at Med. He’s okay, but-”

“Yeah, I saw the news. I’ll be right there.” She hung up, knowing he had to work this crazy fiasco, and turned to her best friend. “He’s at Med.”

“Go.” He told her. “I’ll cover anything that comes to your desk.”

“Thank you.” She smiled and hurried off.

* * *

“Earl, that fire…that’s my dad’s place. He’s in the hospital, and I really need to-” Entering her director’s office, she froze when she saw who was in there with him. “Oh, uh…hello, Miss Grant.”

“Miss Halstead. Have a seat.” Earl told her quietly.

Sensing something was wrong, she shook her head. “I’d rather stand.”

“Kira, is it?” Cat looked at her. “I got word this morning that you recently ran a hack through our computer system.”

“For my brother, yeah.” She admitted, knowing that Cat would smell a lie anywhere. “He works for the CPD. Intelligence. He came and asked for my help with a case, completely above the books.”

“Are you aware that hacking is against the rules here at CatCo?” Cat asked but ignored her as she went to speak again. “No matter, we just wanted to inform you of your termination, effective immediately.”

Kara stared at them. “Excuse me? You’re firing me. I’m one of your best tech agents.”

“And yet you broke the rules, so how good can you be?” Cat sighed. “Your things need to be out by the end of the day. Don’t expect a recommendation.”

Then she was gone. Kara stood in shock for a minute before looking at Earl, who looked sad.

“Kara, I tried…”

“It’s okay, Earl.” She told him. “I will have Winn grab my stuff for me if that’s okay. Like I said, my dad…”

“Of course.” He told her. “Kara, I really am sorry.”

She didn’t respond. Her brain was reeling, but at the moment, all she cared about was making sure her father was safe and unharmed. Running out of the building, she brought her phone to her ear. “Winn, I need another favor…”


	3. Agreements

Kara sat in a chair at the side of the room as she watched Will examine their father. He had soot on his face, neck, and hands as he had stayed inside the burning building to save a friend. She would almost smile if she weren’t so angry with him for nearly getting himself killed.

“Pop tried to play hero,” Jay told them as the patriarch of their family coughed harshly. “He forgot he was in his 60s with a bum ticker.”

“Yeah, well. This is your fault, to begin with.” Pat wheezed out, and Kara shook her head.

“Dad, don’t…”

Jay widened his eyes. “Me?”

“Yeah.” Pat nodded. “Stick me in that fire trap.”

“Pop, stop talking,” Will ordered him, sparing a glance at Kara.

“You said you liked the place,” Jay argued back.

Ignoring them, Will looked at the nurse. “You close on the EKG?”

“Just about.” The woman told him as Pat started to twist away.

“What’s the point of this?” He asked loudly, shoving her away, causing the youngest of the three to roll her eyes.

“Easy.” Will raised his voice. “Paramedics said you were complaining of chest pain. Did you forget you had a quadruple bypass a few weeks ago? Come on, stay still.”

Kara watched as her father vomited into a tray and looked up as Dr. Connor Rhodes, their father’s doctor, entered the room. “Hey, if it isn’t my favorite patient. How you doing, Mr. Halstead?”

“Fine.” He coughed.

Ignoring him, Connor looked at his chart. “So you felt some tightness in your chest, huh?”

“It’s nothing,” Pat told him, though his strained breaths made it sound like the opposite.

“Well, you might be right,” Connor told him, and Will moved to stand by his colleague. “I don’t see any ST elevation or depression. No left access deviation.”

Kara looked up at Jay, who sent her a questioning look, so she just shrugged and shook her head. She didn’t know what any of this meant either.

“Looks like a strong and healthy heart to me.” Connor finished, and Kara felt her heart start to go back to normal.

“Yeah, good. We done?” The belligerent man asked.

“Nope, not yet,” Connor told him.

“Brave man,” Kara muttered quietly, though she heard Jay snort slightly in response.

“You still have a pretty nasty inhalation injury.” The surgeon told him.

“Can I get a CBC, CMP, and a carboxyhemoglobin?” Will jumped in, sending more terms past Kara that she didn’t understand.

“And add a full cardiac workup,” Connor added.

Once Connor was out of the room, Pat started back in on them. “I don’t need all this.”

Kara stood and walked to the bed as Jay spoke. “Calm down; you’re getting yourself worked up.”

“What do you know?” Pat rasped out. “You’re no doctor.”

“Dad!” Kara reprimanded him.

“Pop,” Will warned, but Jay shook his head again.

“Forget it.” The middle sibling said, sounding defeated.

“You had no right to sell my house,” Pat said suddenly, looking at Jay.

Now Jay was fired up. “You want to talk about this again? It was a wreck; you couldn’t take care of the place.”

“You just wanted my money.” He told his son.

“You don’t have any money, you thankless old prick,” Jay shouted back at him.

“Hey, stop that.” Kara jumped between them. “That was uncalled for. Both of you.”

“Oh, just stop it,” Pat told her quickly. “Now do what we agreed on and keep whatever is in your head to yourself, got that little girl?”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Will asked, looking between his sister and his father as Jay stormed out.

Kara stared at Pat, an annoyed, almost angry look on her face. “First of all, you were there when we _all_ made the decision to sell the house. So don’t act like this is Jay’s fault. As far as our ‘agreement’, we agreed on only one thing, and it had nothing to do with you or your health.” Then she looked at Will. “It’s nothing. I’m going to go check on Jay.”

Leaving the room, she heard Will gently call her name but ignored it. Walking over to Jay, she sighed. “What an ass.”

Jay scoffed. “That’s being generous.”

They watched as Will walked out and went to them. “Dad’s stable. Why don’t you go in and talk to him? You know, make up?”

“Well, he started it,” Jay argued, clearly upset. “And thanks a lot. We agreed that we were gonna sell that place, and you just stood there. You didn’t say anything. At least Kara tried to shut him up and help me out.”

“What’s the point in arguing with him?” Will asked, glancing at his sister. “He’s old. He’s sick. Just let it go.”

“That’s fine for you to say. You’re not the bad guy here.” Jay told him.

“Jay, don’t do this,” Kara whispered.

“No, seriously.” The detective frowned. “All those times you were away, and all those times you said that you couldn’t leave the hospital, who took care of Dad? Kara and I, that’s who.”

“Leave me out of this,” Kara told him.

Will’s jaw twitched. “I did plenty for Dad. I still do. Who goes and checks on him? Keeps him on his meds?”

“Yeah, all right.” Jay sighed in disbelief. “Tell you what, when he gets out of here, you find him his next apartment.”

Then he was storming away, leaving the other two in silence. Turning, Will looked at Kara. “Do you agree with him?”

“I don’t want to be a part of this. I already said that, Will.” She told him adamantly.

“Cut the crap, Kara.”

“Fine.” She growled. “I don’t know what I think. We’re all busy. Maybe…I sort of agree with him, but not in the way you think.”

“So how, then?”

“You guys aren’t the only one Dad gives crap to, okay? Since I came into this family, he’s been ordering us around. But to go with Jay’s point, yeah, I feel like maybe you could have been around more. But the same goes for Jay.

“You both have demanding jobs, and I respect that. But it always feels like I’m the one it falls on when you guys are busy. I may not be saving lives, but you’ll never know how many all-nighters I pulled for that she-devil Cat Grant because I was taking care of Dad while you guys were somewhere else.”

“Kara…” Will stepped closer, but she sighed.

“Listen, I told Winn I’d call him with an update.” She said quietly. “I’ll be back.”

Then she too was walking away, in the opposite direction Jay had gone.


	4. A Sudden Change

“Yeah, okay. That’s fine, just keep it with you, and I’ll grab it when I can.”

Jay walked up next to where his sister sat on the phone and waited. She looked tired in the way her body moved, though her physical appearance never changed. Another thing he could never figure out. He guessed he looked worse than a zombie at this point.

“Thanks, Winn. I’ll call you later, okay? Bye.” Hanging up, Kara sighed. “Winn says if we’re still here after work, he’ll bring food.”

“He’s a good guy,” Jay said absently.

Kara nodded. “The best. After you and Will, that is.”

“So you were pretty quiet down there for a while,” Jay said, edging into the conversation he wanted to have with her.

The blonde shrugged. “Somedays, the supply of available curse words is insufficient to meet my demands.”

“I know you’re being sarcastic, but I think that was closer to the truth than you know.” He told her, a small smirk on his face for only a second before it dropped again. “Hey, what was Dad talking about when I left?”

“Huh?” Kara scrunched her face in forced confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“Some agreement you two made.” He reminded her. “What was that about?”

“It was nothing, Jay. Just something we talked about a long time ago that he won’t let go.” She bit her lip.

“Kara…”

“Jay, we all have stuff with Dad. Just…let this go for now? Please?” She asked, and he nodded.

“So, how are you doing with all of this?” He asked, changing the subject for her.

At this, she chuckled. “I honestly can’t decide if I need a hug, an extra-large coffee, six shots of vodka, or two weeks of sleep.”

Jay nodded again. “Well, the coffee around here probably isn’t the best; we can sleep once Dad’s in the clear, and it’s sort of frowned upon to drink in a hospital. But the hug I think I can manage.”

They hugged quickly, and Kara smiled at him before she frowned, confusing Jay. “What’s wrong?”

She looked away for a second, then shot her eyes to his. “Something’s wrong.”

Then she was running, trusting that he was behind her.

* * *

“What’s going on?” Jay voiced her question as they entered the room, beeping continuously ringing in her ears.

Will ignored them as he worked on their father, who was unconscious and breathing from a bag. “He’s in V-Fib. Charge to 200 and give me the paddles.”

Kara put her hands over her mouth as she watched her brother fight to bring their father back to them, but her heart had shot into her stomach, and she had a bad feeling it wouldn’t be rising anytime soon.

Next to her, Jay hugged himself, looking like a lost child as his eyes stayed on their father. Neither moved to comfort each other.

“Will?”

Kara snapped back as Jay spoke, not knowing who to focus on. She settled with looking at her father. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Will look at Jay and then land on her, but she didn’t pull her focus from Pat. She only had one thought on her mind.

_This can’t be happening again._

* * *

Just as she had an hour before, Kara sat in the chair at her father’s bedside. This time, though, she listened as Will spoke to a neurosurgeon. Their father hadn’t regained consciousness.

“How long before you restored sinus rhythm?” The man asked.

Wil crossed his arms and hesitated. “He was down around five minutes.”

“Well, that’s consistent with what I’m seeing.” The man nodded. “Almost no EEG waveforms.”

“What does that mean?” Jay asked Will.

“Do you want to tell him?”

The eldest glanced at Kara, who still wouldn’t look at him, and sighed. “Are we not seeing some brain activity?”

“Artifacts.” The man said. “Distortion, interference. Dust on the window.”

“Okay, I…I’m not following,” Jay said again, and everyone could hear the emotion in his voice.

“Your father’s brain dead.” The surgeon told him, and though Kara had somehow known it deep down, hearing the confirmation brought tears to her eyes.

“So…he’s just not coming back? Like, you—you’re saying that there’s…there’s no chance?”

Looking at Jay sadly, the doctor sighed. “If I had to calculate the odds, I’d say one thousand to one against.” Then he looked at Will. “This vent could be…put to better use.”

This time Kara did look up, using all of her effort to only keep tears in her eyes and not heat. Jay started yelling, and Will blocked him while the surgeon, whose first name she now learned was Sam, left the room.

Then Jay was gone, and Will looked at their father for a second before slowly looking at her. “Kara…”

Shaking her head, she let the tears roll down her cheeks as Will rounded the bed. Then his arms were around her, pulling her up and holding her tightly. She gave in to the tears and cried into his scrubs, not caring who saw or what she looked like at that moment.

Their father was brain dead.

As she cried, one statement echoed in her head.

_Remember what we agreed._


	5. Making a Decision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short one, so I'm going to post a second one today. That won't usually happen.
> 
> Also, I won't usually post a chapter every day, but it's currently the only thing keeping my mental state secure so that's what I'll be doing for now.
> 
> The only other thing I wanted to state is that this story will follow mostly episodes from Supergirl, but also various episodes and storylines from One Chicago shows. If there's an episode or scene you want to be included from either, please let me know and I will do my best to fit it in.

“I don’t like that guy, man.”

Kara leaned against the wall next to her brothers as they processed the news they had just been given. After her breakdown in Pat’s room, she’d gone quiet again and had decided to listen to what her brothers had to say. They didn’t push her on it, and for that, she was grateful.

“I want a second opinion.”

Will sighed. “He’s our top neurosurgeon.”

Jay scoffed, shaking his head. “So all your degrees, all that money, all those years in school, this is the best you can do?”

Looking at his sister, Will faced Jay. “Jay, Dad almost died two years ago. He’s been living on borrowed time.”

This time, Jay stood. “Abrams didn’t say Dad had no chance.”

“One thousand to one is no chance,” Will told him.

Kara watched them carefully and moved closer when she saw the look on Jay’s face. It was animalistic and angry, but also pained and protective, unbelieving. She thought it matched what his heart felt and knew it matched her own.

She also knew that this fight wasn’t going to end well for any of them.

“You just want to give up?”

“I’m trying to be realistic. I’ve seen a lot of patients in his condition.”

“There goes that doctor voice.”

Adjusting her glasses, Kara crossed her arms and moved, so she was nearly between them in case fists started swinging.

Will’s face hardened. “I’m sorry, but I _am_ a doctor.”

“Yeah, don’t worry, we got that message,” Jay told him. “Dad knew you thought you were better than us.”

“Jay, please…”

He ignored her. “We always came in second, you weren’t there, and now you want to decide what happens?”

“That is not true, Jay.” Will stepped forward.

Sensing the brewing fight, Kara stepped in and planted a hand on each of their chests. Using her extra strength only slightly, she shoved them back a few inches and held her ground.

“Stop this. Now.” She looked between them. “We’re grieving, and we’re exhausted. But I’ll be damned if I let any of us say anything we’re going to regret.”

“So what, you want Dad to die?” Jay shouted at her. “You’re being uncharacteristically quiet about all of this. Usually, we can’t get you to shut up.”

Whipping her head to look at him, he saw all of the anger and pain she held tightly wound within her and wished he could take back what he said. “Jay, don’t act like you’re the only one who has lost something today. This is on all of us. Did you forget that if Dad dies, this will be the fourth parent I’ve lost? And tragically at that? So, don’t act like I don’t care.”

“Kara…” Will started to speak, but she cut him off.

“No, I don’t want Dad to die, Jay. I want him to live so badly, it hurts. But not like this. This _isn’t_ living.”

Both men stared at each other for a moment before she put her hands down, knowing they weren’t going to come to physical blows. She saw them both rub their chests where her hands had been and internally winced as Jay looked down at her.

“Hey, when did you get so strong, anyway?”

She just shrugged and muttered a quiet ‘I’ve always been strong’ before a woman’s voice was heard calling to them. “There you are.”

Kara moved to stand beside Jay as the woman joined them, and Will gestured to his siblings. “Ms. Garrett, this is my brother, Jay, and my sister, Kara.”

She shook Jay’s hand and sighed. “I’m the hospital’s COO. I heard about your father. I’m…very sorry.”

“Thank you,” Will answered for them.

“I want you all to know that there’s no hurry in making any decisions about Mr. Halstead.” She told them. “You have the full support of this hospital. And we will provide your father with any and all resources.”

“I appreciate that,” Jay answered quietly.

“We take care of our own.” She told him, patting Will’s arm. Then she pulled out her card. “This is my cell phone. You call me if you need anything.”

When she walked away, Jay shook his head. “It’s decided. We’re not giving up.”

He left them and walked in the direction of the ED. Standing in silence, both Will and Kara were lost in thought. Finally, Will spoke.

“Kara…we shouldn’t have said what we said. I can’t speak for Jay, but in all of this, I _did_ for a second forget that you’ve lost your parents before. I’m sorry.”

She shrugged but didn’t speak.

“Now I have to ask…what do you want to do?”

Fixing her glasses again, she shook her head. “You know of all four parents I’ve lost, he’s the only one I didn’t get to say goodbye to.”

Cocking his head to the side, he looked confused. “Wait, but I thought…”

“It doesn’t matter, Will.” She told him quietly. “I’m going to go call Winn. I promised him an update.”

Then she too was walking away, leaving Will all alone in the hallway.


	6. We Gotta Let Him Go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapters get longer, I promise.

Kara sat across from Jay in their father’s room, and both were silent. She’d barely been on the phone with Winn before he was leaving the office and offering to come to the hospital. She didn’t want to admit she needed him, but her family was fraying her nerves, and she needed the backup, so she accepted his offer gratefully. He’d even offered to drop her box of office possessions at her apartment before arriving, knowing that was also a point of stress for the young woman.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when Jay looked up at her. “What are you thinking over there?”

“That he didn’t have to love me…but he did.”

Jay searched his sister’s face and felt his heart break apart even more than it already had. It was easy sometimes to forget that she hadn’t been born into their family, just as much as it was to forget that she’d lost everyone else she’d ever called a parent.

And he _had_ forgotten.

It made him feel guilty to know that he had forgotten that his sister’s birth parents had died in an explosion. He didn’t know much about it, but he knew that she had almost not made it out alive.

That was a thought he had to push away as he stared at their father because as painful as losing him was, Jay didn’t know what he’d do or how he’d handle it if he lost Will or Kara.

The latter chuckled and leaned back in her seat, the ghost of a smirk on her face. He frowned. “What’s so funny?”

“I’m just thinking about the first time I ever saw him. He reacted a lot better than I would have to having a thirteen-year-old girl just…plopped on his doorstep. Especially with his general attitude about things.”

“What does that mean?” Jay asked her quietly. “You were adopted, chosen, not plucked randomly from space.”

Almost snorting at his choice of words, she shook her head. “Nothing, nevermind.”

It was only a few minutes later when Will slid open the doors to the room and joined them. She prayed to Rao that this encounter would go better than the last few. She really couldn’t handle another argument.

Walking in, he squeezed her shoulder before focusing on Jay. “Hey, Jay. We gotta…gotta take Dad off the vent.”

“What?” Jay looked up, his eyes wet and red. “No, no, no. He…we’ve been sitting with him, and he blinks his eyes. And I grabbed his hand, and he squeezed my hand. He squeezed my hand.”

Kara watched as her brother begged to be told that something good was happening but knew it wouldn’t come. She’d seen and felt the same things he had but knew deep down what Will was about to say.

“Those are just reflexes. They don’t mean anything.”

“I’m telling you, man; he knows we’re here.” Jay insisted.

“He doesn’t. He can’t.”

“We can’t. He’s…” Jay started to break down. “He’s gotta come back, man, ‘cause…that can’t be the last conversation I ever have with him.”

Kara bit her lip as she remembered Jay's use of ‘thankless old prick’ and how those words would haunt him forever. She didn’t want that for him.

“Look, whatever regrets you have, you’re not going to resolve them here. You just gotta accept that.”

Now Jay was angry again. “Don’t tell me what I gotta accept.”

Glancing at Kara, Will went to his brother. “Jay, the reason Gwen encouraged us to take our time with Dad? His bypass was twenty-nine days ago. If he dies before thirty days are up, regardless of why it’s a fatality for the hospital.”

“So what?” Jay asked him.

“So Gwen’s just trying to keep Dad alive for one more day, so the hospital doesn’t take the hit,” Will shouted at him.

Kara stood. “I can’t…”

Grabbing her phone, she rushed out of the room as Will called after her. “Kara, wait!”

“Look what you did.” Standing, Jay closed the gap between himself and his brother. “Look, I get it, you feel betrayed. I don’t care. I care about Dad. I care about Kara!”

“And you think he’d want to be kept alive to buff some numbers?” Will yelled back, angry at the world for doing this to them. “You think Kara wants to sit here forever and stare at a man who is never going to talk back to her? To see him wither away in this bed and not get to say goodbye? If you really cared, you wouldn’t do that to either of them.”

This time Jay had had enough. “You need to get out. You got to get out, man.”

“They’re using him.”

Jay was done. “That’s _your_ problem.”

“Jay, he’s gone!”

Without Kara around, Jay finally shoved his brother out of his face. They stumbled out into the hallway and were immediately surrounded by fellow doctors and hospital staff. They struggled against each other for a few minutes, both trying to work out their stress and grief. Then Jay struck him in the face, and both let go of each other.

“Stay away from Kara,” Jay told him. “She’s been hurt enough for one day.”

“Doc, you okay?” A security guard asked.

Jay looked at him, apologetically before retreating into the room again. Watching his brother in sadness, Will just nodded to the man and walked away. As he left the ED, he turned slightly to see his sister hugging his fiancé, crying her eyes out. He couldn’t help but feel like all of this was his fault.

He was a shitty brother, he decided, and needed to find a way to fix that. He may not be able to help their father now, but he could at least help them.


	7. Saying Goodbye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few notes I wanted to make.
> 
> First, forget the Will storyline where he gets involved with the FBI and childhood friends that are now crooked. I'm ignoring that storyline because it broke up my Manstead ship and put friction in my Halstead bros scenes.
> 
> Second, I wanted to address the issue of comments. Right now, I have comments open to everyone. My philosophy is that comments, whether it is someone who likes the story or not, are valuable to an author for many reasons. Negative comments can come in many forms.
> 
> I am all for constructive criticism; comments that may not be positive but help to point out possible issues or errors while not tearing down an author who is either just starting off or just wanting to write for fun.
> 
> On past stories, both on here and on other sites, I have received negative comments that are mean, rude, and uncalled for. I am ashamed to admit that there are stories I've abandoned because of completely horrible, soul-crushing reviews I've received that did nothing more than set out to hurt me.
> 
> Though the comment I received yesterday was not like that, it also was not constructive or polite. In the past, this comment may have torn me down. However, I am so numb to this year (and the way my mental health is currently) that it merely made me chuckle and shake my head.
> 
> The reason I bring it up is so I can explain to all of you why I do what I do. It feels selfish to say, but I do not write these stories for the viewers/readers; I write them for me. Every story I write, I make to fulfill a yearning I have to see the idea play out. I like to go back and read my own stories and I get just as much joy as any other reader might. I post them because I realized once that if I like the story, maybe there are one or two people out there who would like it too.
> 
> I will not be deleting comments unless they are extremely nasty or include harmful content. I don't put this note to call out this particular person, either. All I want to highlight is that when you leave a comment for someone's work, remember that there is an actual person on the other end who spent their time and effort creating something and shared it to bring others joy. You lose nothing by keeping your criticism polite or not saying them at all.
> 
> With that, I give you another chapter. Enjoy. Or don't. How you feel about this story is completely up to you.

Will stood on the roof overlooking the city. It had been a long and painful day, and he couldn’t get the idea that his siblings hated him out of his mind. Jay had made his feelings pretty straightforward, and though Kara hadn’t said anything, she’d stayed out of most of their conversations and had left the second he’d started in on them.

“Hey.” He was startled from his thoughts as Natalie walked up, putting her hands on his arm in comfort. “You okay?”

Looking down, he sighed. “I could have been a better son.” He told her honestly. “Could have been a better brother.”

Natalie’s heart broke for him, and she shook her head. “Oh, Will…your dad knew you loved him. And so does Jay.” She rubbed his back. “And you know that Kara absolutely adores you.”

Looking up at her, he nodded in acceptance before leaning into her touch. “How is she?”

His fiancé sighed. “She’s upset, understandably. But not at you. She’s just tired and sad and couldn’t take the fighting anymore.”

The redhead frowned. “Did you know this is the fourth parent she’s lost?”

Natalie shook her head. “She’s adopted?”

“Yeah,” Will told her. “It’s not something we talk about, because honestly, it doesn’t feel like it. I sometimes forget that we don’t share blood. But then something like this happens, and it wasn’t until she said something that I remembered how much she’s lost.”

“How did she lose them?” Natalie asked him quietly.

He turned to face her, still keeping their physical contact. “When our parents adopted her, they told us that it was a fire. When she got comfortable with us, she said her home exploded…she’d barely gotten out alive.”

“That’s terrible.” Natalie kissed him. “But there is something important to remember.”

“What’s that?”

“She still has you, and she still has Jay.” She reminded him. “And you still have both of them. And me…you will always have me.”

Nodding, he gave her a small smile. “Thank you.”

“Always.”

* * *

Taking a deep breath, Kara walked back into her father’s room. Jay was alone now, and she figured he and Will had argued themselves out. At least, she hoped they did.

Sitting down on Pat’s other side, she sent her brother a small, reassuring smile to try and alleviate the tension. “Sorry about that.”

“You okay?” His voice was scratchy.

She shrugged. “No, not by a long shot.” She paused. “But I will be. Eventually.”

“Listen, I’m sorry about before…”

Kara shook her head, her glasses slipping slightly down her face. “Please don’t be. Having to make a life or death decision when family is involved…it’s never easy.”

“What do you mean?” He asked curiously, brows furrowing.

She sighed. “When my parents died, we knew it was the end before we could escape. There was only enough time and resources to get two people out, so my aunt and uncle sent my cousin out first as he was only a baby.

“Then they had my parents get me out. I knew they were all going to die, and I had to choose to stay with them or leave and protect my cousin. He was only a baby, a newborn, so I knew what I had to do. But it doesn’t make the decision any easier.”

“I didn’t know any of that.” He told her. “I’m sorry.”

She shrugged. “It’s life, Jay. All life is different, but some things remain the same. Unfortunately, this is one of them.”

He nodded in silence, and they looked back at their dad. The doors slid open quietly a few minutes later, and someone cleared their throat.

“Hey, guys.”

Looking up, Kara smiled. “Winn.”

Sending her a sympathetic smile, he walked over and took a seat in the chair next to her. “Sorry, it took me so long. Dropping your stuff off took slightly longer than anticipated.” Then he looked at Jay. “Hey, dude, I’m sorry.”

Jay just nodded. “Thanks, man.” He paused. “Thanks for coming.”

The younger man shrugged. “Your family is pretty much all I have in that department, so…”

They lapsed into silence again, and Kara leaned on the side of the bed. Her left hand reached out and grabbed Winn’s, who moved his chair closer to hers. They stayed like that for a while before the doors opened again, and Will came in.

“Hey, Winn, thanks for coming.” He said after a minute, hoping to ease the room’s tension.

“Like I told Jay…he’s family.” Winn sighed.

“Kara…”

“We’re good, Will.” She told him honestly, fiddling with her glasses.

Knowing she only did so when she was nervous, he went to speak until she slowly shook her head and glanced at their brother. Seeing her gaze shift, he set his sight on Jay.

“I’m sorry, Jay. For everything.” Will’s voice cracked, and Kara squeezed Winn’s hand. “For not being there for you, and Dad, and Kara. For not giving either of you space to grieve. We’ll keep him on the vent as long as you want.”

Blinking slowly, Jay spared a glance at their sister and saw agreement in her eyes. “Who am I kidding, man? I know he’s not coming back. Let him go.”

Both boys looked up at Kara, who had tears in her eyes and a death grip on Winn’s hand. Taking a deep breath, she nodded. “He wouldn’t want this. Just let him go.”

Clapping Jay on the back, Will sat down next to him and nodded sadly at his sister. Kara held Winn’s hand in her left and her father’s in her right. She saw Winn lean over and clap Will on the arm, rubbing it slightly, sharing a look of sorry with the grieving doctor, before dropping his hand and leaning closer to her.

Taking in the comfort of having the three most important—living—men in her life around her, she finally let her heart grieve for the man she had lost. She prayed she would never have to do this again, at least not for a very long time.


	8. What Comes Next

Kara sighed as she finally unpacked the box Winn had dropped off for her from her old office. Getting fired still stung, but not as much as everything else that had happened since then.

Glancing at the simple urn on her mantle, she sighed. It had been about a week since her father had died, and she still couldn’t believe it. An investigation was opened, and his death, along with others, was ruled a homicide, as 51 found signs of arson. That thought made her stomach turn to stone, knowing she could have stopped it and maybe save her father’s life in the process.

She had to shake those thoughts away physically. She had promised Pat she wouldn’t tell anyone about her powers or her true family heritage, and she couldn’t have known it would end this way.

Pulling a picture of him out of her box, she ran her thumb over it before using her purple sweater to wipe the dust off. Then she walked over and placed it next to the urn and stared at it. He’d always made it clear that he wanted to be cremated when he died, so none of them had any problems with that. What they did have a problem with was figuring out who would be keeping his ashes.

She had been shocked when the boys chose her. She still questioned if they had chosen correctly, but they had been adamant. After their arguments at the hospital, she’d forced them to sit down and have the serious talk that they’d started in shouts, and though all had things to apologize for, both boys had owned up to the fact that of all of them, it had really been Kara doing most of the work.

To them, it only seemed fair for her to keep his ashes close by. Besides, they’d said, they spent more time at her place than either of their own anyway.

She continued to go through the box of her things before transitioning to the things she had taken from Pat’s house when they cleaned it out. Her hands tightened on a piece of fabric and lifted it out to hold in front of her. She couldn’t believe he’d kept it for all of those years.

Her tunic. The same one she’d been wearing when she landed on Earth and literally crash-landed into their lives.

Her phone rang out loudly, and Kara rolled her eyes. “What?”

“Is that how you answer the phone now?” The woman’s voice snarked to her.

Chuckling, she plopped down on her couch. “Sorry, Trudy. I thought you might be one of the boys.”

“Still mad at Jay, huh?” The older woman asked, referring to his risky, nearly suicidal stunt during the mission to avenge their father.

“Extremely.” She said honestly. “The next time I see him, I’ll probably kick his ass.”

“Good, the kid deserves it.” She said offhandedly. “So, how are you doing?”

Kara smiled at the woman’s question. She hadn’t had an easy time adjusting to her new family when she first arrived on Earth and had made the impulsive decision one day to run away. The officer to find her had been none other than Trudy Platt, and from that day forward, they’d had a special relationship.

“I’m okay.” She ran her fingers over the fabric of her tunic. “I mean, I’ve been better, but I’m okay.”

“Uh-huh.” She could tell Trudy didn’t believe her. “Well, I’m calling to tell you that Jay took his lunch early today. He got a phone call, I think it was Will, and then hurried out. Just a warning.”

“Great.” She muttered. “Thanks for the head’s up.”

“Any idea what it’s about?”

Groaning, Kara turned to look through the wall, seeing two bodies walking up the stairs at the end of the hall. “I have a thought, yeah.”

“Well, good luck.”

“Thanks, Trudy.” Turning off the call, Kara shook her head and walked to the door, opening it before they had knocked.

“How do you always do that?” Jay asked her in frustration before walking inside.

“Come in, why don’t you?” Kara snarked but nodded for Will to follow. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your company at one o’clock in the afternoon when you should be at work?”

“Well, see, that’s what we were thinking about you.” Jay snapped at her.

Confused, Kara looked at Will, who winced. “I went by your office to see if you wanted lunch. All I found was Winn, who looked like he’d just seen a ghost, and someone that wasn’t you at your desk.”

“Shit.” She let the word slip from her mouth quietly.

“Why didn’t you tell us you got fired?” The eldest of the three asked.

Looking at Will, she sighed. “It was last week, and let’s be honest, it hasn’t exactly been a great seven days for any of us. There was a lot going on.”

“Was it before or after Dad?” Jay asked, sitting at her kitchen table.

“Same day, but before I left for Med.” She told them. “Had nothing to do with that.”

Jay stared at her as Will started to speak before cutting him off. “Son of a bitch.”

“Jay…” She shook her head, knowing he’d figured it out.

“It’s because of that favor you did for me.” He chuckled wryly. “They fired you because I had you run a hack at the office.”

“That was my choice, Jay. I knew the risk when I did it.”

“Wait, so he’s right?” Will snapped his gaze to look at her.

She nodded. “That’s what Cat said, yeah.”

“The Devil herself did the deed?” Jay asked, shocked. “Damn, no wonder you looked so frazzled when you got there.”

She shrugged. “Yeah, well, what can I say? Cat scares all.”

“You should have told us,” Jay said quietly. “I’m sorry I got you fired.”

She waved him off. “Stop it; you didn’t do anything, Jay. She didn’t fire you.” Then she paused. “Hm, I’ll have to ask Trudy if she tried. It honestly wouldn’t surprise me.”

“So, what’s your plan?” Will asked, curiously.

“I honestly have no idea.” She told them. “I keep looking for tech jobs and then feeling like…”

“Feeling like what?”

She slumped back against her chair and let her body deflate. “Feeling like it’s not what I want. All I have ever known is fixing stupid things for snotty people. I guess I just want to help people in a different way, you know?” She sighed. “I don’t know; I guess I just feel like I’m waiting for something that isn’t going to happen.”

Rubbing her eyes, which were devoid of glasses as she usually was while at home, she missed the look shared between her brothers.

“We have to get back to work, but why don’t you meet us at Molly’s later?” Jay suggested. “Drinks are on Will.”

“Says who?” Will teased. “Maybe I’ll buy Kara’s drinks, but you’re on your own, buddy.”

“That hurts, Will. That really hurts.” Jay told him.

Kara laughed. “Hey, I am the baby of the family. And I was just fired.”

“Low blow, Kara.” Jay shook his head. “Low blow.” She just laughed again as they left, happy to have that conversation out of the way.

* * *

Kara opened the door to the bar and smiled at the familiar feeling it brought. Waving as she passed the friends she’d met through her brothers, the blonde was almost to the bar where they sat when she felt a hand on her arm.

Turning, she stopped. “Oh, sorry, hi, Sergeant.”

Voight nodded to her. “Jay tells me you’re in need of a job. Turns out, I’m in need of a tech genius.”

“Jay…” She sighed. “I’m sorry he dragged you into this.”

“I’m not.” He told her honestly. “I’m not being nice when I say I need someone. Things haven’t been as smooth since Mouse left. What do you say?”

She stared at him for a minute before nodding. “You’ve got a deal.”

“Good. Be at the precinct at seven, and Trudy will get you started on the paperwork.” He told her, the hint of a smirk on his face.

“Thanks, sir.” She smiled. “Hey, can I ask you a quick question?”

“Shoot.”

“Jay…did he only ask you because he feels guilty? He thinks it was his fault I got fired.” She inquired. “Is he just doing this to ease his guilt?”

Voight shrugged. “Maybe. But I also know he wasn’t about to take no for an answer when he came in today. He talked up your skills for nearly ten minutes before I could stop him to tell him I was good with it. He may feel guilty, but he also knows you and what you can do. Remember that.”

She smiled genuinely this time. “Thanks. I’ll see you in the morning?”

“Definitely.” He toasted her lightly. “I look forward to it.”

“Me too.” Then she turned and walked straight to Jay at the bar.

Walking up behind him, she hugged him, catching him off guard. “What the hell?”

“Thank you for butting into my business.” She smiled as she boosted herself onto the stool next to him.

“Voight got to you?” He asked unsurprised. “Well?”

“What’s going on?” Will wondered, out of the loop as usual.

Kara smiled. “As of tomorrow morning, I’m a civilian employee for the CPD. Specifically Intelligence.”

“Oh, good, so you can buy your own drinks then,” Will told her, and Jay laughed.

“Oh no, you don’t.” She raised her brows and laughed. “You promised me free drinks.”

“Did I hear free drinks?” Herrmann asked behind the bar.

“Will’s buying mine tonight.” She smiled.

“Good man.” The firefighter told them and walked away.

Will groaned, causing Kara and Jay to laugh again. It felt good to get back to normal.


	9. Kara Comes Out: Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm definitely going through season 3 of Supergirl, but after that, we'll have to see how I play things out. I have plans to go through the Crisis event for sure, but how I get there...well, I guess we'll find out.
> 
> Also, if any of you are familiar with both Supergirl and the One Chicago shows, let me know. I have some ideas/sticky situations I need to bounce off of someone!
> 
> Thanks for all the love, guys. I appreciate you very much. :)

Kara sat at her desk, typing away furiously as she searched for information on their perp. They had picked up a case of a suspicious high-class robbery, but so far, there had been a lack of information that had everyone on edge.

She’d been working with Jay’s unit for over a month and found that she had to actively work to keep her powers in check. There had been many times where she’d accidentally let slip a comment on something she hadn’t been a part of or had known someone was coming before anybody else had, and someone had questioned it.

She loved her new job, but she seriously needed to get a handle on herself before she blew everything.

“Find anything?”

Looking up at her brother, she shrugged. “The prints all came back to people who work there or their customers. Or to people who aren’t in the system. Then there’s one set of prints that I can’t even begin to analyze because they’re either smudged or not a fingerprint.”

“What the hell does that mean?” He asked her, confused.

“It means I can’t trace it because it doesn’t even look human.” She told him bluntly.

“Don’t tell me you’re starting to believe Winn’s crazy theories now.” He joked.

“Of course not.” She winced internally. “I’m just…telling you what I see.” Then she paused. “They’re coming out.”

Jay sent her a look, and they both turned to see Kim and Kevin come out of the interrogation room with their suspect. As he walked past, Kara’s body froze. She watched as he slipped his hat back on and noticed a slight ripple in his skull just before it was covered. As if he sensed her, the man turned to look at her and tipped his head.

“You look familiar.” He rasped out.

Scrunching her face in confusion, she shook her head. “Um…okay?”

Then the man turned and left. Looking at their friends, Jay sighed. “Did he give you anything?”

“Yeah, a possible address of the next hit,” Kim told him. “3125 Haddock.”

The blonde typed it into her computer. “It looks like it’s a high-end jewelry store.”

“Fits the pattern,” Kevin told them. “I’ll call Voight.”

Turning to his sister, Jay sighed. “Thanks. You meeting Will for dinner tonight?”

She nodded. “Yeah, I’m meeting him there after his shift. Hopefully, you guys will catch this asshole, and we can get some sleep tonight. This case has been annoying.”

“Hey, you’re doing great.” He told her, lightly hitting her shoulder. “Not your fault the prints are weird.”

Nodding as he walked away to his desk, Kara bit her lip. Tugging lightly on her blue shirt, she stared at the fingerprint. It definitely didn’t look human. If she had to guess…it looked more alien than anything else. And that thought scared her more than she cared to admit.

* * *

“So, how is the wedding planning going?” Kara asked her brother as they walked back towards the hospital.

He shrugged. “I guess it’s on schedule. I’m not really sure. But according to Nat, we’re good.”

Kara laughed. “You are so pathetic.”

“Hey!” He laughed with her. “I don’t know how any of this works, don’t make fun of me.”

“I’m not!” She insisted. “I’m just stating a fact.”

“Ouch.” He smiled as he led her onto a less populated path. “You’ve been hanging out with Jay too much.”

“Well, I do work with him now.” She reminded him.

“Yeah, how is that going?” He asked her and watched as she fixed her glasses. “Okay, what’s wrong?”

“What are you talking about?” She asked innocently.

“Whenever you’re nervous, you mess with your glasses.” He told her. “You’ve done it since you were thirteen.”

“So the entire time you’ve known me.” She muttered. “Great.”

“So I will ask again, what’s wrong?”

Hesitating, she stopped him for a moment. “Will…what would you say if I told you that I thought Winn might actually be onto something.”

“For which thing?” Will chuckled. “He’s a good dude, but man, does he love his conspiracy theories.”

“About the…aliens.” She forced the word out of her mouth and waited for his reaction.

“Aliens.” He studied her face. “Seriously, Kara, what’s going on?”

“I just…” Her eyes slid from his face to something behind him. “Will.”

Turning to see what she was looking at, she saw a tv on in the store behind them. On the screen, they saw news coverage of a building that had partially collapsed. It looked like people were still inside.

“Will…that’s the address I gave the team earlier.” She told them, her voice shaking. “Jay’s there.”

“Hey, we can’t freak out yet. Come on; we’ll drive down there.” He told her, grabbing her arm.

Both siblings jolted as another part of the building went down on the screen, and Kara’s body stiffened. As her brain ran a mile a minute, she shook her head and stared at her older brother.

“Will, I’m really sorry for this.” She told him.

“Sorry for what?”

Ripping her arm out of his grip, she stripped her coat off and threw it at him. Then she lifted her hand to her glasses and whipped them off as well, shoving them into his hand.

“Kara?” He asked, confused. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Saving our brother and our friends.” She told him simply. “I’m really sorry.”

“Kara, there’s nothing we can-”

The words Will spoke were cut off as Kara ran away from him and jumped. He watched as she landed hard on the ground and then jumped again, this time flying away in the blink of an eye. He couldn’t believe what he had just seen.

“What the fu…?”


	10. Kara Comes Out: Part 2

Kara barely registered her own thoughts as she sped toward the jewelry store her friends were trapped inside. As she got close, she squinted her eyes to look and see how many people were still stuck inside. She counted about a dozen men and women trying to escape and someone with a gun directing them quickly out of the building.

If that was her brother, she was going to kick his ass. Right after she saved it.

Taking a deep breath, she listened in and heard the familiar raspy voice of her boss. “Halstead, you gotta get out of there. The building won’t hold much longer.”

“There’s still civilians inside here, Sarge.” Her brother’s determined voice came back to her over the radio.

“Halstead, I gave you an order.” Voight barked into the radio.

“I’m not leaving these people here!” Jay yelled again, the sound of the building shifting echoing in her ears.

Cursing her brother, she shot down just as the structure he was standing under dropped.

* * *

Jay tried not to think about his surroundings as he rushed to get people out of the building. He knew it could only be a matter of minutes before the spot he was standing in was turned to dust, his own body along with it, but he wasn’t going to leave innocent civilians inside while he ran to safety.

He knew he wasn’t making it out alive, but maybe if he saved enough people, his siblings wouldn’t be as mad at his decision. He knew this would crush them, no pun intended, so he pushed the thought of them out of his head.

Just as he did so, the building groaned. “Everybody down!”

As everyone dropped to the floor, including himself, he braced for impact. It took him a second to realize that nothing came and that everyone around him was whispering and talking in confusion. Looking up to see what happened, his heart stopped.

The spot he’d been standing in had indeed fallen, but it hadn’t made it to the ground. Instead, he saw that it was resting on the hands and shoulders of a young woman in blue, her blonde hair blowing around her as she pushed it above her.

When she looked up, his eyes widened. “What…how…?”

“You need to get these people out of here, Detective.” She shouted at him, ignoring his questions.

Knowing she was right, he ushered them out one at a time while keeping watch on their savior. Another groan was heard, followed by a pop, and water started spraying around them as pipes were bursting.

“Oh, _come on_!” She shouted.

As the building shifted again, he watched as she forced more of her strength into holding it up. So much so, she started to yell at the effort, and he saw her hands fold into the concrete like it was clay.

The second the last person was out, he turned to her. “Kara?”

“Jay, you have to get out of here.” She told him. “Now.”

“Not without you.” He told her, and the building shifted again.

“Go! I’m right behind you!”

Trusting her, he ran, and the second he cleared the building, it came down on top of her. Jay stumbled back into the team as he watched it.

“No!”

“Jay!” Hailey screamed and grabbed him.

“Did…did you see that?” He asked them. “That girl…”

She nodded. “Yeah, no one knows who she is, but holy shit, she’s strong.” Then she paused. “She got everyone out.”

“She…” He watched, his heart beating wildly out of his chest.

“Jay…” Hailey frowned. “Let’s get you to an ambulance.”

“I’m fine.” He pushed her away.

“You’re ridiculously pale.” She pointed out. “It’s like you’ve seen a ghost.”

He blinked at the building. “I saw…something.”

The team didn’t recognize her. Jay knew that she only took her glasses off if she was at home, but he couldn’t believe that no one had seen that it was her. Then again, he’d known her since she was thirteen, so he was a little more in tune with her than anyone else.

Then he remembered that the building had fallen on her. How would he tell Will about what happened and why she was inside the building when it went down? How could he tell their brother that he’d gotten a few dozen people to safety, but not their little sister?

He was about to argue with Severide about getting her out when everyone’s voices started getting louder.

Then he saw why.

The concrete that had just fallen was starting to move. Everyone watched as the rubble shifted before being thrown aside. Then the woman stood and looked shell-shocked around at everyone. Her clothes and hair were soaked, and her chest was heaving as though she hadn’t been getting enough air. Other than that, she looked utterly unharmed and way more confident than he’d ever seen her.

He saw people pull out their phones to capture the moment, but all he could do was stare at her. Slowly, she turned to look at him and shrugged, chuckling slightly. All he wanted to do was go and talk to her, but as if she sensed his thoughts, she bent her legs and shot into the air, flying away into the dark sky.

Jay’s mind was reeling. His sister had caught a building with her bare hands and survived it falling on top of her. Then she’d flown—and since when could people fly?—away, leaving everyone in shock and disbelief. He wasn’t sure how she did it, but he was sure as hell going to find out.

Now he just had to figure out a way to tell Will.


	11. Exile

_“Shoppers of Garrett Jewelers appear to have a guardian angel. When what many report to be a female flying form rescued them from certain death.”_

Kara squealed at the newscaster’s words and set her pizza on the coffee table. She’d put on dry clothes, though her hair was still wet, as she’d been waiting to see what they would say about her on the news.

_“Leyna Nguyen is live at the scene.”_

_“Thank you, Rick. Guardian angel or human wrecking ball?”_

“What?” Kara shouted, her jaw dropping at the words.

_“There is destruction all over the block of Haddock. And one…”_

This time Kara stood. “Well, you try saving a building for the first time. See if you don’t make a mess.”

The broadcast paused, and Kara heard a sigh from behind her. “Oh, my God.”

Turning, she saw both Will and Jay standing there and smiled excitedly. “I know! It’s incredible!”

Running over, she hugged Jay, and everyone heard his bones crack. “Ow.”

She pulled back quickly. “Oh, sorry. That was…that was too hard. I’m just…I’m so excited. I still can’t believe I did it.”

Her voice was coming in pants, but they knew it was because she was freaking out.

“Yeah,” Jay told her. “Neither can we.”

“Are you okay?” Will, ever the doctor, asked her quickly.

“Me?” She asked incredulously. “Am I okay? Jay, are you okay?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

“Were you scared?” She sighed, correcting herself. “I mean, I was scared too, but you…you had to be terrified. Because you had no idea I was coming to save you.”

“Yeah, how exactly were you able to do that, by the way?” He asked her. “I feel like there something massive we missed.”

Kara bit her lip and stared at them. “Well, I guess the cat’s out of the bag now, huh? Sorry, Dad.”

“Wait, Dad knew?” Will chimed in.

Kara nodded. “Yeah, so did Mom. It’s…why they adopted me.”

“Wait, hang on.” Jay waved her off with his hand. “So Mom and Dad knew, but you never told us? Start talking.”

Kara sighed. “You guys know Superman, right?” They nodded. “I’m his cousin.”

“That doesn’t begin to help us understand any of this,” Will told her.

“Wait…your cousin.” Jay studied her. “The one you told me about in the hospital?”

She nodded. “When I was thirteen, my planet, Krypton, was dying. My aunt and uncle sent my cousin Kal, or as he’s known on Earth, Clark, away so that he could live. My parents did the same and gave me the mission to watch out for him.

“But the explosion knocked my pod off course, and I ended up in a place called the Phantom Zone. Time doesn’t exist there. I was stuck there for about two decades before I got loose and ended up here. I guess a long time ago, Mom had a project that involved helping Clark figure out his powers, and he wanted me to have the same normal childhood he did, so he brought me to you guys.”

“That’s why you said you were dropped on our doorstep.” Jay realized. “Because they hadn’t sought you out, Clark dropped you off.”

She nodded. “Yeah.”

“And tonight, when you mentioned Winn being right about aliens existing…” Will prompted.

“That’s partially because I’ve been feeling guilty about not telling you guys about me.” She told him. “Plus, I don’t know, I’ve been seeing some weird things at work lately.”

“The fingerprint,” Jay said, and she nodded again. “You think it’s alien?”

“I honestly don’t know, but it didn’t look human to me.” She told him.

“I need a drink,” Jay said as he leaned against her counter.

“Right! Yeah, we need to celebrate.” Kara agreed, running to grab him a glass, as well as one for Will, forgetting her worry for excitement again. “It has been so long; I almost forgot how to fly. Well, not so much how, but more, more how it feels, like…scared, but good scared. Like…like that moment right before you kiss someone for the first time.”

She handed them the drinks and didn’t think anything of Jay downing his in one sip. “And now…Now it’s like…I’m not sure what comes next. Or maybe I am sure, and I’m just afraid of what it means. And if it means what I think it means.”

“Okay, Will, if you’re not going to say it, I am.” Jay sighed, squaring his shoulder. “What were you thinking?”

“Jay, don’t…” Will started, seeing how happy she was, and then trailed off.

That stopped her in her tracks. “What?”

Jay gestured wildly to the picture of her on TV. “You exposed yourself. To the world. This secret you have? You’re out there now, Kara. Everyone will know about you, and you can’t take that back.”

“I don’t want to.” She told him in confusion and watched as he sighed. “This is what I was talking about, Jay. I’ve always felt the need to help people, and tonight I finally got that chance.

“I…” She sighed, her excitement leaving her along with the warm feeling of her brothers’ presence. “I didn’t travel two thousand lightyears just to be a techie.”

“What if people figure out who you are?” Jay asked her, stepping closer to her as Will observed them from the side. “What you are? It’s just…” He stared at the picture of her on the news.

“It’s not safe for you to do anything like that. Ever again.”

“Jay, cool it,” Will said, seeing the look on his sister’s face.

When their father died, he thought he’d never seen her so broken, but watching her take in Jay’s words was hurt on a whole other level. She’d been so excited, and now she just looked small and weak, very much unlike the woman he saw on the news tonight.

“Oh.” She said quietly, her lip trembling. “I’m kind of tired, I…I just caught a building on my shoulders. I’m gonna go to bed.”

Jay scoffed and shook his head as Kara swallowed thickly. “You should go.”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Jay told her as he turned and stormed out of her apartment.

“Jay!” Taking a deep breath, Will looked at his sister. “Kara…”

She looked up at him, plastering a false look of calm on her face. “You should go, too. Natalie will be looking for you…so will Owen.”

“Hey…” He walked to her and kissed her head. “I don’t understand all this yet, but I’m proud of you, okay?” She nodded, and he sighed. “I brought your jacket and glasses back. They’re on the counter.”

“Thanks.” Then she turned and walked into her bedroom.

Watching her walk away, Will let himself out. _Dammit, Jay._


	12. Look What You Made Me Do

Kara got to work early the following day, her mood sour. She’d been excited so excited the night before until she’d let the boys inside. To Will’s credit, he hadn’t said anything other than that he was proud and had texted her three times that morning to make sure she was okay, but she still wasn’t sure how he felt about her continuing this new path.

She knew exactly how Jay felt.

She didn’t look up as he walked into the bullpen, instead going about putting her things away. The jewelry store thief was still out there, and though she had her suspicions about it being an alien, she still had to work every angle she could. She might have shown her powers to the world, but she wasn’t about to lose her job over them.

Turning on her computers, she took a deep breath and focused on the screen, not letting her eyes wander either right or left. Having her desk in direct eye contact of her brother’s was annoying during times like these.

Unfortunately, the man had other ideas.

Slowly approaching her desk, Jay sighed. “Can we talk?”

Looking up at him, she sat back in her seat. “Are you going to be happy for me? Or is it about work? Because if it’s not, then we have nothing to talk about.”

Pushing him away hurt her heart, but she couldn’t let him sit there and tear her down. She’d finally found something she could do to help people up close and personal, and he couldn’t even pretend to be happy for her.

She watched as he walked back to his desk and listened as everyone else filed in over the next few minutes. As Ruzek and Hailey arrived, the man looked excited.

“Hey, did you guys see the news? That girl from the collapse yesterday was on it.” He told them.

“Yeah, it’s the only thing anyone is talking about.” Kevin agreed with his friend.

“Supergirl.” Everyone turned to look at Kim. “Cat Grant over at CatCo named her Supergirl.”

Hearing the name sent a spark up Kara’s spine, and she smiled. “Cool name.”

“It definitely fits.” Hailey agreed. “Metropolis has Superman; it’s about time the world got a female superhero.”

“You know, this is stupid.” Jay barked out, looking at everyone.

“What, your masculinity hurt because you got saved by a girl?” Antonio joked with him as Voight came to the door of his office.

“No, I just don’t think it’s a good idea to be sensationalizing whoever she is.” He answered and glanced around the room. “We don’t even know who she is or where she came from.”

“Well, clearly, she’s from the same place Superman came from,” Kim suggested. “They have the same powers, right?”

“Yeah, I don’t ever remember you getting this pissy whenever Superman made an appearance,” Kara spoke up, staring daggers at her brother.

“Well, Superman can handle himself,” Jay told her. “Besides, are we even really sure we can trust her? Who knows what danger she’s brought with her? Kara, I thought at least you of all people would know better than that.”

The room went quiet as they stared between the siblings. Hailey whacked her partner on the arm, telling him he’d gone too far.

Kara nodded, pain filling her eyes. She knew he had been upset, but she never dreamed that he would stop trusting her. That was almost worse than anything else she’d been through in her life.

“You know, Jay, your flexibility amazes me.” She stood slowly and walked around her desk. “How is it that you get your foot in your mouth and your head up your ass all at the same time?”

At that comment, everyone either whistled quietly or turned away in shock. Turning away from her brother, she faced Voight. “I’m so sorry to do this, but my best friend Winn…well, an emergency came up, and I’m his emergency contact. He has no other family in town…”

Voight nodded. “Take the day. If you need any more, we can revisit it later.”

“Thank you.” She told him. “Call me if you guys need me. I can hack from outside the building.”

Then she grabbed her purse, shot a dark look at her brother, and sped out the door. When she got outside, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed Winn’s number.

“Hey, think you can pull a family emergency and meet me at my place? It’s important.”

* * *

It was an hour later, and Kara held her arms around her stomach. She stared out at the city and let the wind from her rooftop flow through her hair. It wasn’t long before she heard footsteps on the stairs and knew Winn was joining her.

“Kara?” His voice was loud and searching until he spotted her near the edge. “Hey, uh, are you okay? Also, whatever you have to say, can you make it quick? I’m not really into being this high up.”

It was now or never, she knew, so she turned to face him. “Okay, um, Winn, I am going to tell you something about me that only three people in my life know. Can I trust you?”

Crossing his arms over his chest, his face grew serious. “Yeah, yeah, of course.”

“Good. Um…I just,” she sighed. “I really want someone to be excited for me. And I, um…okay, how do I…” Looking at the sky as if for help, she tried to come up with a way to come out and say it. “Okay, uh, there’s something about me that for most of my life, I’ve run from it. But last night, I embraced who I am, and I don’t want to stop.”

“Oh my God, you’re a lesbian!” He exclaimed. “Oh, Kara, that’s why you’re not into me. This is, this is great news!”

“Wait; what?” Reeling from the comment he just made, she shook her head. “No, I’m not gay! I’m…I’m her!” When he gave her a confused look, she sighed. “The woman who saved the building!”

She chuckled a little, hoping to see some excitement. Instead, he also started to chuckle. “Okay, right. Did the boys put you up to this?”

Realizing he didn’t believe her, she turned and walked toward the edge of the roof. Then he got worried.

“Kara, what are you doing?” She didn’t stop. “Hey, Kara! Get away from the ledge; you’re gonna get hurt!”

With one last smile at her best friend, Kara held her arms out beside her and let herself fall backward.

“Kara!” Winn screamed, running to the edge.

Just as he was getting ready to pull his phone out to call for help, a blur flew past his face, flipped, and landed behind him. When he looked up, Kara was fixing her glasses from the short trip.

Without trying to settle his breathing, Winn looked like he might cry. “You’re…you’re her!”

Nodding, she shrugged. “Yup.”

Then she chuckled and waited for his reaction.

“I have so many questions.”


	13. Supergirl's First Stand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The "Halstead Heart Attack" is something I have been talking about since Jay first arrived on the shows. Go watch any episode where either one gets hurt or someone they care about is in trouble. You'll see what I mean.

Winn rifled through the Chinese food as he looked at the fabric on Kara’s kitchen island. “So, how is it? Huh? How does it fit?”

Kara came out of the next room, her eyes wide. She wore a blue long-sleeved crop top, red short shorts, and a red headband in her hair. “I’m not flying around saving people in this thing. I…I wouldn’t even wear it to the beach.” She covered her stomach. “Where’s my cape?”

“Capes are lame!” He told her. “You can tell your cousin I said that.” Then he paused. “Actually, never, never do that.”

* * *

Kara felt a lot better about this new version of the suit as she walked out of her bedroom to show Winn. This time she wore a long-sleeved blue shirt made from a sturdy material, a gold belt, and a red skirt. Her hair hung naturally around her shoulders, and she was excited.

She cleared her throat, pulling him away from the task at hand, and he stood.

“Oh.” Quickly remembering she still wore her glasses, she slowly pulled them off and looked at him hopefully.

“Kara, you look really pretty without your glasses.” He told her, transfixed.

“Winn.” She said with a teasing tone.

“So,” he clapped his hands together and sat back down by his police scanner. “uh…to be a superhero, you need a crime. I hacked into the CPD…there’s a car chase on the 112 freeway.”

Kara smiled. “I could do a car chase!”

Before she knew it, Kara was flying past police cars to get to the car they were chasing. This was a thrill she never knew she needed, and she was excited to finally get the chance to prove herself. Then she tried to fly around the corner and flew directly into a wall.

* * *

“A cape aids with aerodynamics; I should have thought of that!” Winn exclaimed as she walked out in the same suit, this time with a cape attached.

_“West Chicago Bank reporting a 432. Sixth and Spring.”_

Winn turned to look at her seriously. “You, uh…you’re sure you’re bulletproof?”

Taking a deep breath, Kara nodded and smiled. “I hope so!”

“And if Jay is there?”

Kara sighed. “Then that’s his problem, Winn.”

Arriving at the bank, Kara saw that there was a standoff with the police. Looking around, she saw that Intelligence was, in fact, on the scene, and though she didn’t want it to bother her, it did. She didn’t want to mess up in front of them—especially in front of Jay.

Steeling herself for what she had to do, she flew down and landed between the police barricades and the gunmen. Staring at them, she ignored her friends' calls, who thankfully had no clue it was her and made her way towards the shooters.

As the bullets bounced off of her, she started to grin. She was beginning to like this superhero thing, and she knew she couldn’t give it up now.

Walking forward, she grabbed the first man’s rifle and yanked it from his hands, flipping his body, so he landed in a heap on the ground. Then she grabbed the other man and punched him so hard, he flew backward a few feet.

Turning to face Intelligence as the cops moved in, she smirked before flying off.

* * *

“So, they were there?” Winn shook his head as he examined Kara’s bullet-ridden cape. “How was that? Was it awkward? I bet it was awkward. Oh! Did Jay have one of those patented “Halstead Heart Attacks” you guys are so famous for? I bet he did.”

As Kara was changing into her newest suit, Winn was happy to keep rambling. “Oh, I wonder what Will thinks of all this. Has he called? Is he freaking out? What do you think he’ll say when he sees the footage of you and the bullets? Did they even know you were bulletproof? Do you think he’s told Natalie anything about this? Do you think Jay will tell the squad?

“Also, I can’t believe Voight or Platt haven’t figured it out yet. I mean, they are Sergeants. I know you work in a unit full of detectives, but I can see how many of them wouldn’t see it. Antonio, maybe, but still Voight and Platt? Those two are scary good at their jobs. Do you think they know and just haven’t said anything? How do you think that would work for your job there? Are you going to start showing up at all their crime scenes now?”

Throwing the cape in her garbage can, he shook his head and changed the subject as rapidly as his thought process moved. “Alright, the new cape is made from a structured polymer composite. It’s much sturdier than…”

Winn’s voice trailed off as Kara walked out of her room, donned in what they both now knew was the final version of her suit. She walked with an air of confidence she’d never had before, and the atmosphere around them felt as if the universe knew what a critical moment it was for everyone.

“And, uh…” He chuckled lightly as he stared at her. “this one has the ‘S.’ For ‘Super.’ Just like your cousin.”

Turning to look in her full-length mirror, Kara smiled. “It’s not an ‘S.’ It’s my family’s coat of arms. The House of El.”

The radio scratched, and a voice rang out that interrupted their moment. _“Four-alarm fire at Gates and Igle.”_

Winn furrowed his brow. “I’m assuming you can’t catch on fire…”

Shaking her head, Kara sighed. “I’ll be back.”

“Go get ‘em, Supergirl!”

* * *

Kara was flying fast, and the breeze was blowing through her hair. She realized that while she had grown up in the city for a good portion of her life, she was not yet perfect in her ability to locate any location by just an address.

Slowing to a stop, she hovered in the air for a moment and focused on the sounds around her. The unmistakable sound of sirens filled her ears, and she waited until she could pinpoint the direction they were coming from. Turning her head, Kara nodded as she located the blaze coming from her right and took off in that direction. As it was in Firehouse 51’s territory, she knew they would need the assistance.

The first dart in her shoulder took her by such surprise that she stalled for a minute as her body went into shock and filled with searing pain. The second hit her in the side, causing her to fall from the sky as fast as she’d flown up there. She slammed into the top of a pickup before involuntarily rolling off and hitting the ground hard.

Laying in the wet puddles of an alley, Kara registered the fact that she couldn’t move. She had no idea what was happening or how it was even possible for something like this to occur. She heard footsteps approaching quickly and barely had time to look at them before her head lolled to the side, and she was swept up by darkness.


	14. Mayor Lane

Kara woke slowly, but the second she remembered what happened, her eyes roamed around for information. Her body still felt weak, and her wrists burned, but she had no idea why or who had attacked her.

Turning her head, she saw a man standing above her and tried to rip her arms out of the cuffs that she now saw were around her wrists and glowing green. When she was unable to do so, the panic set in.

“Made of low-grade Kryptonite.” The man she now recognized as Chicago’s mayor, Samuel Lane, informed her. “Radioactive mineral from your home planet. It weakens you.”

“Where…where am I?” She panted out, her body still weak from the minerals around her. “Who are all of these people?”

Gesturing to the two people standing near him, he stepped back so the woman could come and unlock one of Kara’s wrists. “This is my security detail. Agents Olsen and Danvers.”

Kara sat the second her wrists were free and stared at them. “Where are we?”

“Oh, this place? Just a neutral site that we rented out for the night.” He told her. “Just long enough for us to explain to you who we are and how we know about you.

“You see, for as long as life itself, people all around the world have wondered about life on other planets. We had no proof; therefore, we could quell the worry of our people. Then your cousin came along. As soon as he showed his powers to the world, the government set up a special division to handle matters pertaining to the presence and/or invasion of anything…extraterrestrial. Like you.”

“But…everyone loves Superman.” She reminded him.

“Not everyone. It’s just not popular to say it.” He shook his head. “But you’re right; once the huge outpouring of love came for your cousin, the division was shut down.”

“So what is this, then?”

He sighed. “Even though the division was shut down, the president and other notable officials knew that we weren’t alone in the universe. We had proof. We also knew there was a possibility of getting more…immigrants.

“So we worked in secret. Each time a president is sworn in, the former leaves him detailed plans on how to handle these threats. Whenever any alien presence is seen or even hinted at in a city or state, those appointed officials immediately set up a task force in order to handle any more that might show up.

“This includes you. The moment you arrived on the scene, we set to work gathering essential items and information pertaining to you and your kind. All of that has been sent to our chosen team, and they should be discussing it as we speak.”

“You’ve chosen a team?” She asked, still slightly in shock. “What team?”

“Not that it is any of your business, but as you have thus far been unthreatening towards us, I suppose there’s no harm in telling you.” He paused. “We have chosen the CPD’s Intelligence Unit as our new alien-fighting task force.”

Kara’s heart stopped for a moment. “Intelligence?”

“Heard of them?” He asked. “Their unit is already specialized, and with this new order, they will have even more jurisdiction and power than they did before. Sergeant Voight is a good cop, and while he has been a bit controversial over the years, he is the perfect man for this job.”

“But…I’m not a threat!” She told him as they walked into a different room filled with computers. “All I want to do is help.”

“While that may be the case, you aren’t the only one out there.” He told her and gestured to a screen. “Fort Rozz.”

“Fort Rozz?” Kara wondered why the name sounded so familiar.

Lane nodded. “Krypton’s maximum-security prison.”

 _Oh._ she thought. _That’s why._

“It was banished to the Phantom Zone.” The mayor continued. “The same place your ship got stuck. But just like yours, it didn’t stay there.

“We’re not sure how your pod got loose. What we do know is this: you pulled Fort Rozz with you. When it crashed, the alien convicts, the worst criminals in the galaxy…they all escaped. And you brought them here.

“These beings…some of them have powers from your darkest nightmares. For over a decade, they’ve stayed hidden. But in the last year, many have been emerging, making themselves known. We think they’re planning something. We’re just not sure what it is yet.”

Kara looked up quickly. “The building I caught. Those jewelry heists. That’s them, isn’t it? I knew there was something off about that guy…”

“Yes, Intelligence seems to have had an alien suspect in custody that they will need to find again.” Lane agreed.

“I can help them. I can help the team stop them.” Kara told him confidently.

“How?” He asked, walking past her. “You couldn’t even stop us from capturing you.”

“I’m still learning.” She said with a fire in her voice.

“Our job is keeping people in the dark about alien life on Earth, and nothing says ‘covert operation’ like a flying woman in a red skirt.”

“But, I-”

“You want to help? Go back to whatever day job you had before you started this wannabe-superhero project of yours. If they’ll take you, that is. You’ve been asleep for twelve hours and should have been at work over an hour ago.” He told her sternly. “Let Intelligence handle this. It is no longer your concern. You are not wanted here.”

Ignoring the hurtful words that the once-popular mayor spewed at her, Kara sighed. She watched him walk away before realizing what he had said to her. She was late for work. While that ordinarily would have been a reason in itself to panic, they now knew about her existence and wanted her gone. She had to know what they knew and had to find out what they thought about everything.

She also needed to see her brother and make sure he didn’t spill her secret to everyone she cared about, or her life would be over before she knew it.


	15. Welcome to the Bunker

Kara tripped as she hurried up the front steps of the precinct and threw the doors open. Her glasses were askew on her face, and she desperately hoped she’d button her red blouse correctly. She’d been in a hurry to get there, and her brain was still scattered from everything she’d learn that morning.

“You’re late.”

She physically slid into the building as she made the running turn towards the gate that led to Intelligence and sent an exasperated glance at her friend. “Yeah, I know!”

Ignoring the rest of what Platt was telling her, she swiped her palm and took the stairs, dangerously, two at a time. When she made it to the top of the stairs, she nearly crashed into Antonio.

“Shit! Sorry.” She winced as he helped steady her.

“You good? Where’ve you been?” He asked as everyone’s eyes fell on her.

“I, uh…” She walked to her desk. “I overslept. Sorry, it shouldn’t happen again.”

Voight didn’t speak to her but continued on his speech. “All we know at this time is that these heists seem to have been caused by these…aliens.”

“Aliens.” Ruzek shook his head. “I can’t believe they’re real.”

“Dude, what did you think Superman was?” Hailey teased him. “It’s not like drugs can make you fly, so it clearly wasn’t that.”

“Yeah, but I mean…aliens!” He gasped. “That doesn’t freak anyone else out?”

“Yo, you make a good point.” Kevin jumped in. “Did Lane even say how we’re supposed to go about fighting these things? I mean, if they’re anything like our resident Supers, our bullets will barely touch them.”

“Luckily, in addition to the information and the new orders he gave us, the mayor was kind enough to give us some new toys,” Voight told them. “Everyone, follow me downstairs, and I’ll show you.”

“Yeah, the construction they suddenly did and got done in under a week? Wait until you see our new digs.” Antonio mentioned.

As the unit filed out behind their leaders, Jay hung back and waited until he and Kara were out of earshot. “Hey, where have you been? I called you like twelve times, and Winn told us you left last night and never came home.”

She nodded. “Yeah, you can thank the mayor for that.”

“Lane?” Jay asked, shocked. “What does he have to do with this?”

“Telling me everything Voight just told you.” Seeing the question behind his eyes, she shook her head. “No, he doesn’t know who I am, but he definitely knew how to get my attention. Kryptonite darts.”

“Never heard of it.”

“Yeah, me neither, until I got shot out of the sky by two in the skin.”

Jay stopped, grabbing her arm. “What? Are you okay?”

She nodded. “Yeah, now. But that shit hurts like hell and apparently keeps me down. So…good to know.”

When they joined the group, they watched as Voight used his palm on a new scanner on the wall of the Roundup where the cage was kept. After it registered, a panel in the wall slid open, and the group walked into a large room filled with everything hi-tech.

“Holy shit,” Ruzek said as his jaw dropped.

Spinning slowly to look at everything, Kim’s eyes went wide. “This is…incredible. And totally overwhelming.”

“According to Lane, if we’re going to be dealing with all things outer space, we need the space and tech to do so.” Voight barked out. “He also sent over a few trinkets of Supergirl’s that they collected over the years.”

Gesturing to a far wall, he led them over to the display of alien tech. As they turned to see it, both Halsteads stopped.

Hitting her arm slightly, Jay stared at everything. “Is that…?”

“My pod,” Kara whispered, her throat almost closing up.

Hearing the emotion in her voice, he looked down at his sister and sighed. “You came here in that?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I haven’t seen it since…”

Jay didn’t say anything but squeezed her shoulder. Then he turned to his team. “Are those new weapons?”

“Alien upgrade. It will be a trial and error at times to figure out what works on which alien, I guess, but at least we have something.” Antonio supplied before pointing at a box of glowing green bullets. “This, however, we know works on Kryptonians. Superman and Supergirl, for example.”

Feeling Jay’s eyes dart over to her, she nodded. “Looks dangerous.”

Antonio nodded. “To them, yeah. For us, it’s a game-changer.”

Kara watched silently as Voight and Antonio went over everything with their team. Not only had they been given new weapons and Supergirl items, but they were also gifted an entirely new and efficient computer database to search that identified any known alien elements and suspects.

Kara still couldn’t believe that any of this was happening. Her coming out with her powers was supposed to be a good thing, like when Clark came out, but all it proved to do was scare everyone, including herself. All she wanted to do was help, but it seemed that it would be hard to do knowing that her friends and family were hunting her down and didn’t want her there.

_You aren’t wanted here._

The mayor’s voice rang out in her mind, and she paired the words with the vision of her brothers’ faces from the week previous. She’d missed the fear on their faces when they first arrived, but now it was all she could think about.

They were the only family she had left, and they were afraid of her. How could she focus on anything else when she knew that even if she gave up her powers forever, her brothers—the most important people in her life—would forever look at her with fear in their eyes.

As everyone filed out of the room, Kara gestured to a computer. “Do you mind if I…”

Voight nodded. “Knock yourself out. I’ll call down here if we need you upstairs.”

She wasted no time in sitting at the machine and exploring its contents.

Watching her carefully, Jay cleared his throat. “Sarge, I’ll meet you up there. I’m going to stick behind for a second.”

Voight must have nodded his consent because it was only a moment later that the panel was sliding closed behind their team, leaving the siblings alone.

“So…this is all crazy.”

Nodding at his words, she stood and walked slowly to her pod. Gently reaching out to run her fingers across it, her heart clenched. “You have no idea.”

“So what do you think about dinner tonight?” Jay asked suddenly, causing her to turn with a brow raised. “You, me, and Will. You could invite Winn if you want. I know he’s been helping you with everything this week.”

She blinked slowly at him. “If you’re trying to stage an intervention or something, it won’t work. At least Winn is excited for me. That’s more than I can say for you and Will.”

“Kara, that’s not fair.” He raised his voice. “You’re being reckless. Look at all of this shit! This is all to find and hurt _you_.”

“You think I don’t know that?” She yelled back. “But I am not just going to sit back and do nothing when I know now that I can help people. This is what I’ve always wanted, Jay! But by the time I was ready to tell you, Mom was gone, and Dad made me promise not to.”

“Well, now it’s Will and I asking you,” Jay told her. “Make that same promise to us that you did with Dad.”

Her heart dropped. “No. I won’t. You can tell Will that I say no to dinner and that I’ll talk to you guys again when you aren’t being stupid…or hurtful.” She started to walk away when she sighed. “You know, being my big brothers, I thought at least you would support me. Or at least be happy for me.”

Jay didn’t know what to say, so they stared at each other, silently fighting their own battles.


	16. Factory Fight

The new bunker was silent as Kara and Jay stared at each other. She had been vulnerable with the last statement she’d made, and she wasn’t even sure it had gotten through to him. It was one thing if their team or mutual friends had been against her, but to be at odds with her favorite people on Earth killed her a little inside.

Their staredown was interrupted when a loud screech filled the room, and Kara ducked to cover her ears. When she looked up, she saw Jay was at her side instantly. Seeing that he wasn’t in pain, she looked at him, confused, until a voice filled her ears.

_I’m communicating at 50,000 hertz. If you can hear this, you were not born on this Earth._

“Kara, are you okay?” His voice had a slightly panicked tone to it.

Using his arm to balance, she nodded and pushed herself over to the computer. “Uh, yeah. I need the system.”

 _Painful, isn’t it?_ Kara shook her ear out to try and alleviate the ringing. _The humans of Chicago will suffer ten times this pain if you don’t face me. Meet me at the Chicago River Power Plant. How many innocent people are going to die until you prove you are not a coward, Daughter of Alura?_

As the ringing stopped, Kara looked up at Jay. “He’s back.”

“Who?”

The panel slid open, and Hailey rushed in ahead of the team. “Trespasser at the Chicago River Power Plant. Witnesses say he didn’t look human.”

Jay looked back at Kara. “Alien?”

“I have a pretty good feeling.” She nodded and typed quickly into her new database. “Got it. Definitely alien, but no idea how to identify him yet.”

“Suit up,” Voight called out. “We don’t know what we’re dealing with here, so grab whatever you can handle and get out there. We need to contain this as quickly as possible.” He turned to Kara. “We’ll be back.”

“Be safe.” She told them and watched as they filed out.

She used her vision to watch through the walls as they drove away before running to the loading dock. Ripping open her shirt as she went, she wasted no time in shooting into the sky and flying in the direction of the power plant.

* * *

Landing so hard the concrete broke, Kara looked around for their current offender. When her vision was blocked, she focused on her other senses.

“Clever,” she called out to him. “picking a spot lined with lead. But I can still hear your heartbeat.”

It wasn’t until the last second that she felt his presence behind her and turned to find him landing nearly on top of her. He threw a punch immediately, and she was sent rolling across the ground, grunting at the effort.

“On my planet, females bow before males.” The alien she now knew as Vartox told her.

Standing, Kara balled her hands into fists. “This is not your planet.”

“You look like Alura.” He said, ignoring her previous statement.

“How do you know my mother’s name?” She demanded, her belly turning to ice.

Vartox glared at her. “You don’t easily forget the name of the woman who condemned you to prison.”

“Fort Rozz?”

“She was our judge and jailer.” He told her. “Can’t kill her…so killing you will have to do.”

With pain she didn’t know she still had inside her heart, she jumped forward and flew at the murderous alien. Knocking him through a concrete wall, she ran up and watched as he stood, amazed by the strength she had just shown.

As Vartox stood, Kara threw a punch that he easily deflected before throwing his own into her gut. Groaning at the pain, she wasn’t able to stop him from grabbing her around the neck. He blocked her airway as he looked at her before throwing her so far she crashed through the side of a building where she rolled along the floor. Sparks from the power lines fell on top of her.

She stood, staggering, but was knocked down again as Vartox jumped in from the hole her body had made in the building. “Just because you wear that symbol on your chest doesn’t mean you’re him. Fighting him would be an honor. Fighting you is just exercise.”

Though she knew she shouldn’t be offended by the evil being’s taunts, she was and threw another punch at him. He blocked her easily, and she started to wildly throw punches to see what would land.

Grabbing her arm, he threw her to the other side of the room. “You actually think you could stop me? That you’d be able to stop any of us?”

Picking her up with ease, he flung her away, so she went crashing through the side of the building again and landed on a pile of large metal coils that scattered as her hard body collided with them. Breathing heavily, she was starting to wonder if Vartox was right.

So far, she hadn’t been able to contain him, and she could barely land a punch. How was she supposed to help anyone if she couldn’t even stop one alien?

He landed next to her again and trapped her under his boot when he placed it directly over the symbol on her chest. Reaching out, she grabbed onto his axe as he swung it down, moving her head just in time. Angered by his ability to make her question herself, she used all of her strength to launch herself into a standing position, effectively throwing him off of her.

She watched as he grew angry and barely had time to move before he was throwing the axe at her again. This time it hit her, nicking her arm and causing massive pain to fill her body. Grabbing the wound, she missed as Vartox ran to her and tackled her to the ground.

Choking her again, he sneered in her face. “Now you know what it’s like to bleed. Soon, your whole city will bleed.”

He brought his other hand up to press against her neck and straddled her as he used enough force to end her life. Her vision was starting to go blurry when an explosion hit near them, and Vartox turned.

“Go again!” Voight yelled as the unit ran closer to them. “Take him down!”

Seeing that they had better weapons this time around, Vartox fled, running the power plant's length. As the team got close to her, she stayed on the ground.

“You guys follow that guy,” Jay told them. “I’ve got her.”

“You sure?” Hailey shouted, torn between helping his partner and going with her unit.

“Trust me.” He yelled to her. “She won’t hurt me.”

Nodding, Hailey hurried off and left Jay and Kara alone. He dropped his gun instantly and grabbed her body instead. “Hey, hey, I’m here. I got you. I got you.”

Running his hand up her arm to the wound as she nodded, he pulled out a small baggie and winced at her. “This might hurt.”

Without another warning, he ripped the chunk of metal left behind from Vartox’s axe out of her skin and placed it in the baggie to keep from contaminating the evidence.

Quickly helping her up, they turned at the sound of footsteps running toward them. Instantly, Kara raised her hands in the air as they held their guns on her.

“Halstead, you okay?” Antonio yelled.

Jay nodded. “Pulled a chunk of something out of her arm. We can run it through our new system when we get back.”

“Good.” Voight strolled over to her. “Looks like you’re coming with us…Supergirl.”


	17. Interrogation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys. This story just made it into the Top 5 stories on my account. I've been waiting to see if it would and it finally did! I'm so happy. Thank you all.

Kara tried to keep her cool as she sat across from Voight and Antonio in the Interrogation Room. She had watched from the other side of the glass many times, and she didn’t need x-ray vision to know that her brother stood there now.

“So, Supergirl, you got a name?” Antonio asked her, leaning against the wall.

“My name is Kara Zor-El.”

“That’s interesting.” He told her. “We know a Kara, too. Not exactly a common name, unless you knew that already and want to throw us off.”

She shrugged and leaned back in her chair. “What can I say? Some people just like to be original.”

“I don’t know if you know this, but we have the means to hold you here.” Voight finally spoke up. “Will we be needing them?”

Eyeing him cautiously, she let the look in her eyes turn to steel. “You don’t hurt me; I don’t hurt you. I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

“So tell us what you know.” He implored.

“Where do you want me to start?” She wondered, risking a glance at the glass.

“Start with how you got here and how you went about saving Detective Halstead.”

Taking a deep breath, she crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m from a planet called Krypton, and yes, that is the same place Superman is from. He’s my cousin. I was thirteen and sent here to protect him because he was a newborn when we left our planet behind.”

“But he’s clearly older than you, and he’s been around longer,” Antonio questioned. “How is that possible?”

“We were sent in two different pods.” She told them, acting like she hadn’t seen that exact pod only hours before. “Mine got clipped as our home exploded, and I got knocked into this place called the Phantom Zone. Time doesn’t exist there, so I got stuck for twenty years; my cousin didn’t.

“When I finally got here, he was grown up and had already become a superhero. So I hid myself away and decided that the world didn’t need another…person…like us. I thought it was better that way. And it was…until that day I saw your detective on the news, trapped inside a building.”

“What about that specific situation made you come out?” The younger detective asked.

Looking at the glass, she didn’t care that they knew she was looking at Jay. “Seeing that situation reminded me a lot of what happened to my home. When I heard that your guy was trapped inside…I didn’t want his family to lose him like Kal and I lost ours. I didn’t really think about what I was doing, I just jumped, and suddenly there I was…holding up a building.

“After that, I knew I couldn’t go back to my normal life. It was like a lightbulb went off that was shining its light on my destiny. I figured if my cousin could do it, then so could I.” She paused. “Clearly, that isn’t the case here.”

“Tell us about the alien you fought today,” Voight suggested, and she nodded.

“His name is Vartox. I don’t exactly know what planet he’s from, but I do know that he was imprisoned in Fort Rozz with a whole lot of dangerous alien criminals.”

“Dangerous according to who?” Voight pressed.

She hesitated. “According to Vartox….my mother.”

“Your mother?” Antonio furrowed his brow. “How?”

“My mother was the equivalent of this Earth’s most powerful judge. She told me stories of the bad guys she put away. I didn’t know that it was in the Phantom Zone or how bad they really were.”

“So what does this alien want?” Voight leaned across the table to be closer to her. “What is his play? To get at you?”

She shook her head. “It might be an additional quest now that he knows I’m alive, but it’s not the end game. Fort Rozz crashed here when I did, apparently, and stayed mostly hidden until this year. I guess a bunch of inmates escaped.”

“So there’s a whole prison of dangerous aliens that are running free and want to kill you.”

“Right.” She nodded. “Vartox said something about not being able to stop ‘them.’ I don’t know who he was talking about, but it didn’t sound good. He said…”

“He said what?” Antonio pushed himself off the wall.

Kara sighed and looked down at her hands. “He said that this whole planet would bleed from whatever they are doing. He said that not even my cousin or I could stop them from whatever they are planning.”

“Well, that’s a pleasant thought,” Ruzek said on the other side of the glass. “Hey, where’d Kara go anyway?”

Jay shrugged. “Platt said she got a phone call from Winn and had to leave.”

They watched Voight, and Antonio asked a few more questions, and Jay felt anxious seeing his sister on that side of the glass. When they stood and left the room, the superhero following them, Jay walked out of the viewing booth and looked at them.

“So what are we going to do with her?” He asked, wondering what he’d have to tell Will and Winn after this.

Voight glanced at her before shrugging. “She hasn’t hurt anyone and told us what we needed to know. She’s free to go, as long as she knows that if she steps out of line, we’ll be all over her.”

Kara nodded at him and watched as everyone left the hallways. Everyone, that is, except Jay.

“Are you okay?” He asked her quietly, leaning against the wall. “How’s your arm?”

She brought a hand to where her skin knitted itself back together in front of his eyes; the only indication of an injury being the rip in her suit.

“I’ve never felt pain like that before.” She paused. “Uh, I’ve never felt pain.”

He asked his next question with sympathy. “Did you know about your mom?”

“Her job? Yes.” She took a steadying breath. “But what she did to them…no, Jay, I didn’t have any clue.”

“You know this is why we don’t want you going out there.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Showing yourself, showing this.”

“But we didn’t know anything about this until today.”

He nodded. “Listen, we didn’t understand your powers and seeing what you did…finding out that not only were you an alien but that we had confirmation of life on other planets…and now with these escapees…” He trailed off.

“These aliens would give anything to get revenge on your mother, and the only way that they can do that now is to hurt you. So knowing that it means that there are threats out there that we can’t save you from, and you have no idea how much that scares us.”

“Really?” She asked with a wry chuckle. “Why do you think I jumped in to catch that building you were trapped in? Besides, you know what I can do! I have all the same powers as he does, so why do you both keep treating me like I don’t? I mean, come on, Clark-”

“Isn’t my little sister!” He hissed, and they stared at each other as she deflated a little.

“I’m just trying to protect you, Kara.” He pled quietly. “We both are.”

Kara looked down, and when she lifted her head again, he saw that her eyes were red. “Well, you were right. The world doesn’t need me.”

“Kara…” He pushed himself off the wall, but she shook her head and turned, walking out of the hallway.

Jay watched her go, a million thoughts running through his head, and just as many feelings in his gut, making him feel sick. They’d screwed up, he realized, and now he needed to find Will and figure out how to fix it before they lost their sister forever.


	18. A Peace Offering

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't have a set schedule for updating. I'm currently writing two stories at once (both Supergirl stories) and it's proving to be a little more difficult than I had hoped. I'm also dealing with a lot mental-health wise, so please be patient with me. I promise I will do my best to not leave you waiting long!
> 
> Thanks for the love guys!

It was quiet and dark in Kara’s apartment as Kara sat alone on the couch. Thinking back on the week she’d had was proving to be more emotional than she thought, and she’d landed on embarrassed and stupid not too long before then.

She’d ditched her glasses the second she got home, knowing she wouldn’t need them in the safety of her apartment, and had gotten out of her suit as soon as she possibly could. Shoving it into the back of her closet hadn’t been what she had wanted—she wanted to throw it into a fire pit and watch it (and her short-lived dreams) burn—but she couldn’t bear to ruin something Winn had worked so hard before talking to him.

Maybe she’d let him keep it as a reminder of what he’d been able to accomplish. Or as proof that he actually knew Supergirl for the week she was around.

She was lost in thought, twirling her mother’s necklace in her fingers, when someone knocked on the door.

“Kara, it’s us.” Will’s voice spoke through the door. “Can we talk?”

Turning to face the door, she looked through it and saw both Will and Jay standing there. Will had his hands shoved in his pockets while Jay held a large bag in his hands. It looked like his gym bag, so she figured he’d picked up Will and had come directly from work.

“I know you can see us,” Jay said quietly, though Kara had no trouble hearing him.

Kara simply looked away, ignoring her brothers’ plea to come in. She hoped they would take the hint and go away, but it seemed as though Jay had other ideas.

“I know what you’re thinking.” He said calmly and sounded more vulnerable than she’d ever heard him. “That this is all your fault. But it’s not.”

Kara looked back at the door and pulled her legs up on the couch. Folding her arms over her bent knees, she laid her head on them as she listened to him speak.

Now it was Will’s turn to speak. “Before you came to live with us, _we_ were the stars. And then you came along, and…I mean, how could we compete with you? With a young girl who was so vulnerable and had lost everything? God, Kara, you were so sad and scared all the time; it broke our hearts before we even started to become close.”

“So, you know, we were happy when you grew up and decided to go into a field that had no chance of being dangerous or risky like we did.” Jay continued. “Somehow, you know, you feeling like less…being kept out of sight…it made us feel like more.”

Kara bit her lip as she listened to him speak. She knew there had been some issues growing up, but once they bonded, she thought it had all gone away. It didn’t hurt to hear their revelations as much as it might have the week prior, but she still couldn’t get the look on their faces when they stormed into her apartment out of her mind.

“Now,” Jay said in a stronger voice. “the world needs you to fly, Kara.”

His sentence was barely finished when she yanked the door opened and stared at them. “I can’t, guys. I can’t do it.”

Her voice sounded defeated, but she didn't try to hide it as that was exactly how she was feeling.

“Yes, you can.” Jay’s eyes had hardened, and he was now looking at her the same way he had when she was sixteen and learning how to drive.

The way he looked when she’d freaked out being amongst the other cars and cried that she couldn’t drive and would never be able to. It was his look of faith, determination, and pure trust that she knew couldn’t be faked.

His eyes held the same ferocity, if not more, as he stood on her doorstep.

“Kara, you can.” He told her. “Your family believes in you.”

Nodding, she dropped her shoulders. “Yeah, I can see that you do, now.”

“That’s true,” He shook his head. “But I wasn’t talking about us.”

Kneeling to unzip his bag, he pulled out a small tower-looking device with a glowing crystal on top.

“Did you take that from the precinct?” Will questioned his brother, but both of his siblings ignored him.

Kara reached out and took it, holding it gently. “That’s Kryptonese writing.”

Jay nodded. “Yeah. It was with the stuff that the mayor brought over. It was recovered from your pod.”

Moving away from the door, the boys followed her inside as she set it on her coffee table. “How did you know what it was?”

“After you left the precinct, I thought about what you said.” He told her honestly. “I’ve been trying so hard for so long to keep you happy and safe that I missed the moment I became the reason you lost both. So I went looking for something to show you I was on board with whatever it is you want to do. Then I found this, and this popped up.”

When she finally got it set up, the boys flanked her sides, unsure how they should act. They had agreed that they would do this on her terms, and all they could do now was wait.

Touching a spot on the top of the device, Kara waited until a single, holographic image appeared in front of them.

“Who is that?” Will asked from her left.

Kara’s eyes instantly filled with tears. “Mom…”

“What?” Both boys looked at her in shock and found her staring longingly at the woman dressed in blue.

Then the woman started to speak.

_“Kara, my brave daughter._

_“By now, you have become the woman I knew you would grow up to be. And though you were sent to Earth to protect young Kal-El, your destiny is not tied to his.”_

As the boys shifted next to her, she let her hands fall and gripped one of theirs in each hand. She felt them tighten their grips and was glad to have them here for this moment.

_“There is no correct path in life. You will lose your way many times. What’s important is that you find your way back to the brave girl you always were._

_“Be wise. Be strong. And always be true to yourself.”_

Letting go of the safety of her brothers’ hands, she walked toward the image slowly, her breath ragged as she held back her emotions. Lifting her hand to touch the woman, the picture went out. Kara’s body sagged with a cry, causing the boys to move quickly.

She was wrapped in Will’s arms a moment later as sobs shook her body. “It’s okay. We got you.”

He spoke words of reassurances as Jay laid a hand on her shoulder to squeeze. A few minutes later, they felt her cries subside as her body stiffened, and she pulled away from Will. Setting a determined look in her eye, she turned to look at Jay.

“So, what do we do now?” She asked him, seeking guidance in his eyes.

This time, standing in the same spot he’d been in when he’d yelled at her about her powers, he smiled. “First things first. You need to change.”

Kara laughed and nodded. “Yeah…”

Smiling at them, she sped out of the room, causing Will’s eyes to go wide. “Whoa. I mean, I knew she could do it but seeing it in person…”

Jay hit him on the shoulder with what looked to Will like pride on his face. “Just wait until you see her in the suit.”

Sure enough, she walked out only a moment later and stood in front of them. She had her hands fisted on her hips, and her cape blew behind her in the breeze. Will stared at her in awe.

“My God, Kara…” He shook his head. “Let me guess, Winn?”

She nodded and shrugged. “Yep.”

“Matches your cousin’s suit, if I’m not mistaken.” He commented, and she nodded again.

“You’re off shift, right?” She asked him, and he told her he was. “Good, you can finish the cold pizza in the fridge.”

Then she turned to Jay. “Now, let’s go catch Vartox. I have a bone to pick with him.”

“I’m following you, Supergirl.” He smirked. “Let’s go kick some ass.”


	19. Fighting Vartox

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I need opinions...I do have plans to write the crossovers but I'm torn about "Invasion!" because Kara is the only character from her show to be in that crossover so...do I leave it out and just have a chapter where she talks about it after she comes back or do I write it and maybe add a One Chicago character in?
> 
> I'm not there yet in my writing process but I'm thinking ahead and I was curious what you guys were thinking.

“We found Vartox.” Voight’s voice echoed off the walls of the unit. “Has anybody gotten ahold of Jay yet?”

Standing from her desk, Hailey nodded. “He texted me, saying he was on his way. He should be here any minute.”

“What did you find, Sarge?” Antonio asked him, walking up to see the picture taped to the whiteboard.

“The piece of metal that Halstead pulled out of Supergirl’s arm had a unique nuclear thumbprint that Kara’s computer was able to trace. Satellites picked him up, heading towards the city in an oil truck.” Voight relayed the information to his team.

“He did say he wanted to destroy humans,” Antonio remembered from their interrogation of Supergirl.

Voight nodded. “So we round up our gear and head out to stop him. I don’t want this thing getting anywhere near my city.”

“You won’t be able to stop him.”

Everyone turned to look at the top of the stairs, where they found Supergirl standing in front of them with her arm crossed. Jay was only slightly behind her.

“What is she doing here?” Voight asked his detective, his eyes shifting from the alien to Jay.

“She’s here to help.” He told them. “She’s right; there’s no way we can take him on alone. We only just started at this alien thing, and whatever this Vartox is, he is way more in control than we are right now.

“But Supergirl can match him better than we can. She’s our best play here, and you know it. It would be wrong to push her help away because we’re afraid of what she can do.”

“Where’s the change of heart coming from?” Kim asked him. “A few days ago, you couldn’t stand her.”

Looking back at her, he sighed. “It was pointed out to me that I would have no issues if Superman showed up right now. That’s something I am working through. But right now, we need Supergirl.”

“Well, hang on,” Ruzek told him. “What if we’re not all on this ‘trusting an alien’ bandwagon yet?”

“Then you’ll have to get over it.” Kara chimed in. “People of this city will die because of something I did. I started this. You have to let me stop it.”

“She saved my life.” Jay reminded them. “I trust her.”

He shifted his gaze to their sergeant and waited. Voight looked carefully at his detective, looking for any sign of doubt. When he only found fire and steel, he nodded. “Okay. We will monitor the fight from our bunker.”

She nodded, and everyone took that as a sign to file out quickly. Standing in the back, Voight looked at her. “Make sure you win.”

Kara nodded again, this time with a confidence that Jay admired. Then she was gone.

* * *

Out on the deserted freeway, Vartox’s truck sped along the road as he made his way towards the heart of the city. He was so focused on his mission that he missed the spot of blue and red flying behind him.

 _“Do you have eyes on the target?”_ Voight asked through her comms.

Using a traffic camera, the team zoomed in as they saw her land feet in front of the speeding vehicle. “I got him.”

They watched in a mixture of nerves and awe as she steeled herself for the impact and slammed her body into the front of the truck. It instantly blew up in flames, and Vartox was thrown through the windshield, his body rolling along the ground.

As Vartox stood, his axe stuck in the ground by his side, the truck exploded even more. Kara didn’t even flinch. Watching from the bunker, Hailey smirked. “Damn, that’s badass.”

Jay chuckled a little but kept his eyes on the screen. He knew that she could handle herself, but the big brother instinct inside of him still swelled with worry.

“You never should have come back for more.” The male alien’s voice came loudly out of their speakers.

Kara didn’t answer. Instead, she flew at him, her face set in determination. Vartox dodged her as she passed and grabbed her leg. Jay nearly flinched until she kicked him with her other foot, and the detective realized she’d done it on purpose.

She’d clearly learned from her earlier fight with him and was using it to her advantage. Good for her.

Kara landed again, and as he ran up to throw a punch, she flew up into the air, causing her bent knee to strike him in the face. He went rolling again, and Kara also landed, bringing her fist down into his face to halt his recovery. She threw another punch at him, but this time he was ready for her.

Catching her fist in his hand, he threw his other arm around and sent her flying backward through the air.

“Oh, no,” Kim whispered as she watched, voicing everyone’s fear.

“She’s not strong enough,” Ruzek said quickly, looking as if he was moving to grab a weapon.

“Why?” Antonio asked him. “Because she’s a girl?”

Jay smirked. “That’s exactly what we were counting on.” When everyone turned to look at him, he sighed. “Before I left earlier, I had Kara’s computer analyze the metal in the axe. It’s powered by a self-generating atomic charge reaching temperatures up to 2500 degrees.”

“How does that help?” Kevin wondered, turning to face his friend.

Beside him, Antonio shook his head in amazement. “If it gets any hotter than that, it’s going to explode.”

“She just has to get close enough to do her thing.” Jay agreed with him.

Back on the road, Kara flew down and kicked Vartox hard enough to send him flying into the wreckage of his truck. As he stood to recover, Kara ran at him and threw an uppercut that put him on the ground again. As they fought, Kara threw punches, and Vartox swung his axe until finally, Vartox got the upper hand.

Falling on the ground, Kara gasped in pain and tried to fly away. Vartox, expecting this move, caught her again and threw her back down to the ground. Then he punched her in the chest, causing her whole body to break clean through a slab of concrete.

Kara lolled her head around as Vartox panted in effort above her. “Stop, I…I give up. I don’t wanna die.”

Vartox only sneered at her. “Give your mother my regards.”

Then he swung his axe down on top of her. This time, however, Kara was ready for it.

“Supergirl, do it now,” Jay yelled into the comms, watching her every move.

Grabbing the handle in her own hands, she held the weapon so that the metal was directly over her face as she shot her heat vision at it. This caused it to start heating to an extreme temperature. She only hoped she had enough energy in her to get it to the temperature they needed.

As she fired her vision at the weapon, she could feel her enemy forcing against her strength as it lowered ever closer to her face. Forcing out more energy, Kara started to panic.

“It’s not working!” She cried into the comms. “I can’t do it.”

“It’s why you were sent here,” Jay told her quickly, hoping the confidence he had in her could be transferred through his words. “I believe that now. You have to believe it too.”

As if she had received renewed strength from her brother’s words, Kara focused all of her energy on this one fight. She noticed the axe growing hotter as it turned a fiery-orange color and used it to push the man and his weapon off her. Vartox started to scream as she increased her heat, and finally, just as she was going to push herself harder, the axe exploded, sending Vartox in one direction and the shattered pieces of his weapon in another.

Taking a minute to breathe and get her eyesight back, Kara stood from her spot and walked to the edge of the slab she’d broken. It gave her a significant height difference over her opponent, who laid on the ground watching her.

“It’s over.” She informed him.

On the ground, Vartox shook his injured head. “You think I’m the threat? You have no idea what’s coming.”

As soon as he stopped talking, he reached for a piece of the axe that was still intact and stabbed it through his heart. This startled Kara, but she knew she couldn’t do anything as she watched him take his last breath before the life was snuffed out of him.

“He’s dead.” She told the team over her comms.

“Not your fault,” Voight told her. “Now help contain the fire until 51 gets there. Then get back to the precinct. We have a lot to go over.”

“Yes, sir.” She smiled a little, then turned to put out the flames from the destruction she’d caused.


	20. Super Friends

“So Voight offered you a deal, huh?” Jay smirked as he sipped his beer.

After her long fight with Vartox and her first successful win as Supergirl, the boys had agreed to take her out for drinks at Molly’s, entirely on them. Even though she was tired and had to speed scrub the soot from her skin, she had missed the little moments with her brothers and had accepted almost immediately.

Kara nodded with a look of uncertainty and guilt on her face. “Yeah, he figured you were right tonight when you said the team needed alien help.”

From the seat next to her, Will shook his head. “And he still doesn’t know that Supergirl is his genius techie?”

“No! And would you be quiet about that?” She hissed at him. “The last thing I need is the entire city finding out my identity.”

“Well, then you’re going to have to be careful.” The siblings looked up as Winn, a beer in his hand, slid into the booth’s empty seat beside Jay. “You’re sort of a terrible liar.”

Glaring at him, Kara continued her point. “Anyway, like I was saying, there’s a reason why Clark keeps his identity a secret. Not only would it keep him from having a normal life, but it also put his whole human family in danger.”

“Wait…Clark? Like, as in, Clark Kent?” Winn asked her, and she sent him a look. “Clark Kent is Superman?”

Jay patted him on the shoulder with a sigh. “Why don’t we try keeping the freakouts to a minimum while in public, huh?”

Nodding, Winn visibly swallowed. “Yeah, cool, I can do that.”

The Halsteads chuckled at their friend as Herrmann hurried over to the table, a tray of blue and red shots in his hands. Smiling into her beer, Kara raised her brow. “Hey, Herrmann, what you got there?”

“I call these the Supergirl shot.” He told them excitedly. “In honor of Chicago’s own superhero.”

“Well, in that case, we’ll each take two,” Jay told him, winking at his sister.

“Yeah, now that’s what I’m talking about!” Herrmann shouted. “Just be careful, too many, and we’ll be taking your keys for the night.”

As he wandered off, Will shook his head. “He looked right at you and didn’t notice anything.”

“He was standing only like three feet away from me at the building collapse, too,” Kara told him. “Perfect, close-up look at my face and everything.”

“I cannot believe that by just putting on some glasses and pulling your hair back, no one can tell the difference.” He said in disbelief. “It’s insane.”

“Hey, man, it’s worked for Clark for about three decades. He hasn’t been caught yet, so I wouldn’t worry about it too much.” Kara said, unbothered by it.

Deciding to move on from that subject, Winn lifted his blue shot glass. “To your amazing journey as Supergirl.”

“And the stories that are yet to come,” Will added, causing Winn’s eyes to go wide.

“Wait, you’re going to keep being Supergirl?” He asked excitedly. “So does this mean the Super Friends are back?”

“We are not calling ourselves that.” Kara laughed and raised her own glass of red liquid. “I know it’s called the Supergirl, but I want to make the toast to you guys. Without you, all three of you, I never would have embraced the real me. The me that my mother believed I could become when she saved my life and sent me here. So thank you…even with the arguments, I don’t think I could have made it through this journey so far without your support.”

Then she turned to Jay. “Thank you for what you said tonight. The way you stood up to the team…you didn’t have to, but it meant the world. I know finding out your sister is an alien isn’t exactly news you get every day, but…you were there when I needed you to be, and that’s what matters. When I gave up on myself and I don’t think anything else could have stopped that alien today, you believed in me. I know I couldn’t have if we’d still been fighting, so…thanks.”

She lifted her shot and threw it back with ease before watching the three men do the same. They did both in rapid succession and set the glasses down with a cough.

“Holy shit, that’s strong.” Winn coughed out.

“How did you do that so easily?” Will asked her. “We’re all going to be shitfaced by the time we leave here.”

“She’s always been able to handle her booze.” Jay reminded them, but when he saw her fiddling with her glasses, his eyes narrowed. “What?”

Smiling a little, she winced. “Guys…I’m an alien. My metabolism is like…way higher than that of the average human.”

“I was wondering why you never gained weight but ate more portion sizes than the rest of us at every meal!” Will shook his head.

“Wait a minute.” Winn stopped them, his voice already starting to slur. “You can’t get drunk!”

When all eyes turned to her, she just shrugged. “Yeah…it’s a curse sometimes. Like right at this moment.”

Looking up, the group saw Platt walking over to their table. “Hey there, guys. Do you mind if I steal my girl away for a few minutes?”

Will moved so that Kara could slide out of the booth just as Stella brought over their food. Turning to them, she glared. “Touch my curly fries, and I’ll kill you all.”

Then she turned to walk away, ignoring the way all three men reached forward and stole some friends from her plate. Rolling her eyes, she followed Platt to a secluded table and sat across from her.

“So,” Platt said as soon as they were sitting. “are you okay? You’ve had a pretty rough week.”

Kara winced. “I’m sorry about all that. I know that you and Jay vouched for me with Voight. But Winn is all good now, so hopefully, it won’t happen again.”

The older woman shook her head. “That isn’t what I meant.”

Panic filled the blonde’s stomach as she fought to keep her cover. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You have a bit of soot on your cheek.”

“Shit.” Quickly grabbing a napkin, Kara rubbed at her cheek until she caught sight of the look on Platt’s face. “Ugh…dammit. How long have you known?”

The sergeant shrugged. “Since you saved Jay from the building collapse.”

“The entire time?” She asked in shock. “How?”

“Honey, I’ve known you a really long time. You know Randy and I consider you like a daughter. It wasn’t that hard to figure out. I mean, let’s be honest, you show yourself for the first time when Jay is in imminent danger. You know when people are coming even before their footsteps can be heard, and you know things about cases that the team hasn’t even spoken about yet.”

“You didn’t say anything,” Kara observed the woman’s face.

“It wasn’t for me to say,” Platt told her. “I knew you would come to me when you felt that the time was right. It was just nice knowing that you were out there, helping the people we couldn’t.”

“Thank you,” Kara said, emotion filling her voice. “I know you don’t want to keep secrets from Mouch, but…”

“I won’t tell him.” The woman promised. “Like I said, it isn’t for me to say. I think you should tell him because you know he’ll support you no matter what, but that is for you to decide.”

Nodding, Kara sighed. “You know Voight has me working with the team now.”

“Yeah, I know, Kara. We just established that I helped you get the job.”

Kara shook her head. “No, I mean he has… _me_ …working with the team now.”

Platt looked at her for a minute before laughing. “Oh, you are so screwed.”

“Yes, thank you, I’m aware of that.” Kara smiled.

As she took a sip of her drink, Platt waved her off. “Alright, go on back to your group of idiots. I just wanted you to know, no matter what, I’ve got your back.”

“Thanks, Trudy.” Kara smiled. “I’ll see you in the morning?”

“Bright and early.” She smiled. “If you get there early, we can yell our good morning greetings to the rest of the unit and disturb their hangovers.”

“Oh, you’ve got a deal.” Kara laughed openly and went back to her table.

“Everything okay, over there?” Jay asked quietly as she resumed her spot next to Will.

Kara nodded. “Yep. She knows, by the way. But it’s cool…she’s got my back. Just like all of you.”


	21. Family Connection

Kara shook her head in amusement, reading the drunk texts from Winn and her brothers as she walked up to the door of her apartment. They had been so drunk when they left the bar she had to promise Voight she’d get them all home safely.

She winced as she read one from Natalie. _Your brother just puked blue vomit all over our bathroom. What the hell were you guys drinking tonight? And how are you not hammered along with him?_

Feeling bad for the woman, she typed out a quick reply. _Sorry, that would be Herrmann’s fault. Free blue and red shots in honor of Supergirl. Jay and Winn were the same way when I dropped them off._

She sent the message off quickly, hoping her soon to be sister-in-law wasn’t too mad at the state she’d dropped him off in. She would have offered her couch up to them, but they wouldn’t all fit, and after the long day she’d had, she needed a few hours of peace and quiet to settle the adrenaline that was still coursing through her veins.

She was so lost in thought she nearly tripped on the box that sat on the floor on her doormat.

Looking around, she didn’t see anyone else in the hallway, but that wasn’t unusual for that time of night. Shrugging, she lifted the parcel and saw that it had a mailing slip on it, showing that it had made the journey to Chicago from Metropolis.

“Oh, Clark…” She smiled and opened the front door, carrying the box inside.

Setting it on the island, she tore it open and found herself biting her lip. Inside the box was a red blanket made out of Kryptonian fabric. It was a blanket she’d recognize anywhere, as it was the one her aunt and uncle had wrapped him in for his journey to Earth. Lifting it out to hold closely, she found a letter underneath it.

_Hey Kara,_

_There isn’t much I can say here that we both don’t already know, but I wanted you to know that I was thinking of you. I have been following the crazy stories coming out of Chicago this past week and wanted you to have something to let you know that no matter what you come up against, you can do anything._

_I have been waiting for this moment since the day you arrived on this Earth, but I knew you had to choose it for yourself. I’m glad you finally did. I may not have gotten the chance to know them, but I do know that our parents would be proud of you. And though I have also never met your brothers, I hope they are proud of you, too. I know I am._

_Enclosed is a gift from me to you. I might technically be younger than you, but I figured we could count this as a hand me down as I'm older than you here. I know that with you, it will be in good hands._

_And who knows? Maybe one of these days we’ll get to show the world how we work side by side. I’d be honored to fight alongside my family. All you have to do is say the word, and I’ll be there…provided Mr. White will let me take some vacation time, and Lois agrees to it._

_Be safe out there, and give them hell. I believe in you._

_Clark_

_P.S.—Good news: this cape won’t shred._

_P.S. #2—Lois says hi. She told me if I didn’t add her in here, she’d write a piece about males ignoring their girlfriends in the workplace, so…_

Though she had tears on her cheeks, Kara smiled as she read her cousin’s handwriting. She hadn’t seen him in a long time, and she missed him like a lost limb. But knowing he was proud of her, proud of what she’d chosen to become, made that hurt a lot less hard to handle.

Holding the blanket in front of her, she pictured it on her suit, flying behind her in the wind. It had been the first cape he’d used when he started out, she knew, and it felt like a passing of the torch to be holding it in her hands, waiting for it to be added to her suit.

Walking over to her coffee table, she picked up her laptop, opened up a blank email, and began to type out a message.

_Dear Clark,_

_I just got home and saw your package. You didn’t have to do that…but I’m glad you did._

_This week has been…crazy, to say the least, but today was the day it finally turned around. I think I have finally found what I was meant to do, and I have to thank you for letting me find it on my own. I don’t think I would have been ready for any of this if it hadn’t been for Jay’s near-death experience._

_Speaking of Jay, I wanted to make sure you knew something. I know you chose a long time ago not to work with the government, but I have decided to help Jay’s unit, the Intelligence Unit of our police department, as they search for any other alien activity in the city. I hope you will keep your pride in me as I work alongside them. I promise you…they are good people._

_Funny enough, I also work for them as my day job, so I’m sure the next time we talk, I will have many funny stories for you about the overlap there as I haven’t told anyone but Winn and my brothers about my secret. Well…and Trudy, but she figured it out on her own, so I don’t count that._

_I guess what I just wanted to say was…thank you. I have a big reputation to live up to, but I think with a little time, I can show the world that I am just as good as you._

_Let’s talk again soon, okay? I miss you._

_Kara_

_P.S.—How the hell do you vanish from work whenever someone needs help without losing your job? I still haven’t been able to come up with any good excuses. Help a girl out?_

Hitting the send button, Kara set the computer back on the table and carried the blanket/cape to her bedroom. Placing it on the bed, she went about completing her nightly routine before climbing on top of her covers.

Staring at the red fabric, she bit her lip. She knew it was supposed to be used as her new cape, but she desperately wanted to curl up with it and hold a small piece of home in her arms for one night. Knowing Winn was way too drunk to do anything with it that night, her emotions won over as she grabbed it and draped it over her body.

It could become a cape tomorrow, she decided. Tonight, however, she would snuggle under the warmth of her home planet and drift off into a dreamless sleep, excited about what the next day would bring for her new super-powered journey.


	22. Another Alien Matter

Kara sighed as she let the warm coffee from her mug work through her system. Considering it was precinct coffee, it wasn’t the best, but after the late night she’d had, she needed the caffeine in her blood. She knew very well that the substance wouldn’t do anything against her alien DNA, except for providing some of the calories she needed, but she figured it was the thought that counted.

“Late night?”

Looking up to see Jay standing in the doorway of the break room, she sighed. “Yes.”

Chuckling, he nudged her out of the way to grab his own coffee. “I saw on the news that Supergirl saved a group of teenagers from a crazy bird-looking man.”

The blonde shrugged. “I heard them screaming and went to check it out. It was definitely one of the Fort Rozz escapees, so at least that’s one more put away.”

“And how does Voight feel about it?” Her brother asked, leaning his back against the counter as he sipped his drink.

“Wishes he would have called me in first, but ultimately glad that this is off the streets.” She shrugged. “I can’t just sit around and wait for him to tell me to jump, Jay. I was sent here to help people! I _want_ to help people.”

“I know you do, Kara.” He told her, the faintest hint of sympathy and understanding in his voice. “But you also have to be careful. We hunt aliens now, which by the way is the weirdest thing I’ve ever said, which means that if someone thinks you stepped out of line or have become a threat, we’re coming after you.”

“Jay…”

Walking forward, he shook his head. “You know I support you. But please be careful because I don’t want to have to fight you, or worse, lose you.”

Nodding, Kara gave him a half-smile as they walked into the bullpen. “I know. It’s how I feel every time you walk out those doors on a case.”

“Yeah, well, at least I have multiple weapons to protect me if things turn bad.” He told her, quirking a brow.

She leveled him with an amused glare. “Jay. My brother. My loveable idiot. Did you forget that I _am_ a weapon?”

“Yeah, yeah, shut up.” He teased. “You’re about as scary as a puppy who just tripped over a small curb.”

Her jaw dropped. “Excuse me? I could literally melt your shoes onto the ground right now and walk away while you struggle to move.”

“Who is struggling to move?” Kevin, his store-bought coffee in hand, got to the top of the stairs and looked at them.

“Me, apparently, when Kara kicks my ass,” Jay responded readily, hiding their secret with the ease of an undercover officer.

“Little Halstead kicking your ass?” Kevin chuckled. “Yeah, right. She’s harmless.

“First of all,” Kara sat in her desk chair and crossed one leg over the other. “everyone needs to stop calling me ‘Little Halstead.’”

“Never gonna happen,” Kevin muttered, fist-bumping a laughing Jay.

“ _Second_ , I could kick all of your asses and not even break a sweat.” She challenged with a smug grin.

“One day, I might actually take you up on that offer.” He joked, getting his desk together for the day.

“Now that I would pay to see,” Jay smirked, sending a glance to his sister.

“Good, I could use the money.” Kara raised a brow at him as the rest of the team slowly filtered in.

It wasn’t long before Voight stormed out of his office, his jacket in hand. “We’ve got a case. There was a break-in at Plastino Chemicals. There were two guards on duty; one was killed, and the other is at Med in critical condition.

“Jay and Hailey, I want you guys at Med checking on our vic. If he’s even somewhat conscious, I want any details he can give us. Everyone else is with me at the plant. Kara, look into the plant and tell me what sort of chemicals they keep there, if they have beef with anyone, anything that might cause someone to rob the place.”

She nodded and sat down to start typing. “Do you want me to call Supergirl?”

He shook his head. “This isn’t an alien matter. She can sit this one out.”

Kara watched as the team left, and Jay shrugged at her before following his partner down the stairs. Sighing at her boss’ outlook of her superhero alter ego, she forced herself to start the research they needed. She did need to pay the bills, after all.

* * *

“You and Kara seem to be back on good terms,” Hailey stated as she and Jay walked to the ICU to check on their victim.

He nodded. “Yeah, we worked everything out. She’s still as stubborn as the day she moved in, but I don’t expect that to change any time soon.”

The blonde detective smirked. “She’s not the only stubborn one in the family.”

“Hey.” Jay shook his head. “I thought you liked that about me.”

Hailey chuckled. “I never said that. You stubborn Halsteads always seem to get in trouble one way or the other.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Just that Supergirl isn’t doing herself any favors by pissing off Voight.” Hailey shrugged as they arrived at the nurse's stand.

Jay asked for Connor, hoping the guy was out of surgery and turned on his partner. “Hey, I can’t control what she does. She has a mind of her own.”

“Like I said, stubborn.”

Hailey just smiled, and Jay felt as if the floor had suddenly fallen out from below him. “Shit. She’s going to kill me. How did you find out?”

“I’m good at my job, Jay.” She told him quickly. “She’s not exactly the best at excuses. Besides, it was mostly how you changed your tune so fast when it came to her last week. The way you stood up for her and spoke to her…I’ve never seen you that way with anyone but Will or Kara.”

“You can’t tell anyone.” He said quickly. “If anyone found out that couldn’t be trusted…”

“You know I won’t, Jay,” Hailey said seriously. “But honestly, how does no one else see it through the glasses?”

“That’s what I’m saying!” He joked. “But I guess it’s worked for her cousin for the last few decades; it is bound to work for her.”

“Hey, guys.”

The duo turned and faced Connor, who looked exhausted.

“Hey, man,” Jay told him. “Sorry to bother you. What’s the deal with our chemical plant victim?”

Connor sighed. “Sorry, guys. He died on the table.”

“Shit.” Hailey groaned. “Any chance you found anything useful for us?”

“Actually, yes,” Connor said and handed them a baggy containing what looked to them like a stinger. “I hope you guys know what that is because I haven’t seen anything like it in my entire career.”

Jay sighed. “We don’t, but I think we know someone who does.” He shook his head. “Thanks, man.”

“Good luck.” The surgeon told them as they parted ways.

Lifting his phone, Jay followed Hailey out of the building. “Hey, I’ve got a picture for you. And forget what Voight said earlier. We’re going to need Supergirl on this one.”

* * *

Antonio and Kim stared at the foreign object that a crime scene tech had just pulled out of the dead guard’s body. “What the hell is that?”

“I don’t know, but it matches the picture Jay sent of what Connor pulled out of the other guy,” Kim told him. “It’s not human. What I don’t get is what would an alien want with a chemical facility?”

“This whole facility specializes in chemical manufacturing,” Antonio told her as they walked away from the scene. “Sodium hypochlorite, ammonium nitrate.”

“Ingredients for a chemical bomb?” She asked quickly.

Her partner nodded. “Yeah. We need to find this alien, fast.”

“Before anyone else gets hurt.” Kim shuddered then felt her phone vibrate. “It’s Kara. She has an update on the stinger and the type of alien we might be dealing with.”

“We better get back, then.”


	23. Suspicious

The second Voight’s shoe stepped into the bullpen, Kara was jumping up from her desk.

“You’re looking for a Hellgramite.”

He eyed her warily. “That was fast.”

“It’s why you hired me, isn’t it?” She hurried next to him and walked beside him down to the bunker. “I spoke with Supergirl. That stinger Connor pulled out of the guard? She says she’s seen it before on Krypton.”

“She has?”

Kara hesitated. “Her mother sent one of their kind to Fort Rozz.”

As they walked in, they found Antonio waiting for them at the computers. “According to the data that was salvaged from the wreckage of Fort Rozz, there was a Hellgrammite prisoner.”

Voight nodded, pondering this information. “What do we know about his species?”

“Not much,” Kim said from a desk as Kara pulled up the images and data they had stored.

“According to Supergirl, it’s basically a large insect, but he can camouflage himself into any shape he wants. Humanoid included.”

“So we have a giant insect trying to steal bomb-grade chemical compounds.” Voight shook his head. “This job never ceases to surprise.”

“You guys take him down, and Supergirl can take him out just like with Vartox,” Kara suggested.

Voight grunted. “Call me if she contacts any of you.”

Then he walked out, leaving his three employees behind.

Kara bit her lip and turned to her friends. “Why does it feel like he doesn’t like Supergirl?”

“She’s an unknown quantity.” Antonio shrugged. “I mean, come on, you know Voight. He likes to know all the elements in the problem, but he isn’t sure what to do about her. We just have to give it time.”

Kara thought about this as the other two left the bunker behind their boss, leaving her in silence.

* * *

At an abandoned warehouse on the other side of town, the Hellgrammite mopped up his wounds. The building was dark and quiet, but it proved to be a good hiding spot for him as he planned his next attack.

His thoughts were sidetracked, however, when a man landed next to him. Jumping up, he tried to scramble away, but someone else landed in his path. Running from both men, the alien was stopped by a beam of heat vision hitting the floor in front of him.

“I don’t want any trouble.” He croaked out, hoping they would leave him alone.

“Then you should have stayed hidden,” The one man told him, circling the spot he sat in. “under your rock with the rest of the insects.”

“I have to eat.”

“General Astra promised she would take care of all your needs on this world. Her only request was your loyalty.”

“Tell her I prefer to go it alone.”

The man hit his shoulder. “Tell her yourself.”

Fear filled the Hellgrammite’s eyes as he looked up and saw the woman floating down from the sky. “I don’t want any part of whatever you’re planning.”

“Like I told you all when we first crashed here and escaped Fort Rozz, we are stronger together.” She told him. “There’s a Kryptonian working with the humans. My niece, in fact. She calls herself Supergirl. You will make excellent bait to help me capture her.”

The Hellgrammite took a deep breath. “I’ve seen what happens to people when they take on someone wearing that ‘S.’”

Now Astra was angry. “This is not an invitation; it’s a command.”

Then she left without giving him the chance to deny her again.

* * *

The group was sitting around the bullpen, going over the evidence of their case, when Kara’s computer started beeping rapidly. Jumping up from his desk, Jay hurried over to check it since she was out grabbing dinner for all of them.

“Do we have news on the Hellgrammite?” Kim asked, watching as he read the information.

“Yeah.” Antonio interrupted as he ran up the stairs. “It looks like there are six confirmed attacks on chemical plants across the country over the past year. He’s been making his way here with enough chemical components to build a weapon of mass destruction.”

“Hang on…I’m not sure that’s true,” Jay said, his face a mixture of confusion and worry. “According to the scan Kara ran on his blood, his alien DNA doesn’t seem to be carbon-based like humans. It has a chlorine foundation.”

Looking through her files quickly, Hailey grabbed a piece of paper and showed it to Voight. “Each of those facilities stored confiscated DDT, which is a chlorine pesticide.”

“So if he’s not building weapons, what does he need DDT for?” Voight asked her.

“He’s eating it.” Everyone turned to stare at Adam with a shocked look on their faces. “What? It doesn’t take an idiot to make that conclusion.”

“He’s right,” Jay told them after typing some things into his sister’s computer. “According to the database, based on the atmosphere of the Hellgrammite’s planet, DDT would be the closest thing on Earth he could find to food.”

“Wasn’t DDT banned a while back?” Kevin asked, confused.

“Yes.” A light of understanding dawned on Hailey’s face. “The government’s been destroying the remaining stockpiles. His food source is shrinking.”

“Well, if this thing is hungry, let’s buy him some dinner,” Voight told them, setting the paper on the nearest desk.

“I’ll call Supergirl.” Jay offered but stopped when his sergeant grunted. “What?”

“We can handle this.” He told everyone.

“All due respect, Sarge, but she’s way more equipped for this. Especially since she’s seen one of them before.” Kevin said carefully.

“The mayor came to our unit, not to Supergirl,” Voight thundered. “Besides, she’s hiding something from us, and if we can’t trust her, we can’t really know if she’s on our side or not. Now, if anyone has a problem with that, you are welcome to stay behind. Everyone else suit up.”

As the team filed out, Jay shared a worried look with Hailey.

* * *

“Voight, no sign of the hostile on our end.”

Jay and Hailey sat in their car as they followed behind a truck carrying a few tons of DDT. It was a trap they had set for the Hellgrammite, but so far, there had been no sign of it anywhere.

_“Copy. Stay alert. Let’s hope this moveable feast is too hard to resist.”_

Sighing as they were given their orders, Jay shook his head. “This is ridiculous. Given the Hellgrammite’s superior sense of smell, he should have sensed the DDT in the atmosphere by now.”

“Okay, then where the hell is he?” Hailey wondered as she gripped the steering wheel.

Just as she spoke, the alien jumped from the side of the bridge they were on and landed on the truck bed. Then he looked up and saw the team.

“Voight, the target is on the truck,” Jay yelled into his comm.

Both detectives leaned out their windows to shoot at it just as it shot stingers at their car. The duo dodged most of them and heard them hit the material of the car’s rear seats. It wasn’t until the being jumped on top of their vehicle and shot through the roof that one landed in Jay’s leg.

He screamed out as pain filled his body and looked up to see the Hellgrammite tear a hole in their roof. Reaching in, it grabbed Jay and pulled him out of the vehicle, and before she knew it, they had disappeared from Hailey’s view.

“Jay!” She screamed as she pulled the car to a stop, jumping out and looking around.

She waited as everyone else skidded to a halt beside her and saw Voight throw himself out of his SUV. “Halstead?”

She shook her head. “It took him.”

“Dammit!” Looking around at the team, he shook his head. “Get back to the bunker. We need to find him. Now.”


	24. Searching for Jay

“Voight!”

Everyone in the unit froze at the voice and looked up to see Kara storming into the precinct, their food forgotten. Her eyes, darker and angrier than they had ever seen them, were focused solely on Voight.

“She should have been there.”

“Kara…”

“If she were there…” She cut herself off. “If you trusted her instead of pushing her away, she could have stopped this.”

“Or maybe she’d be captured and dead, too.” He argued with her.

“I know to you, he might just be one of your detectives, but to me, he’s my family. Does that mean anything to you?” Her voice echoed off the walls, and though she sensed Platt standing behind her quietly, she didn’t turn. “Can you even begin to understand that I have lost almost every other family member I have ever had? All I have left are Will and Jay. Now, because of your inability to trust people, I might not even have him.”

“We have every satellite and tactical drone up in the air, and every cop with boots on the ground searching this whole city for him,” Voight told her, ignoring her attack because he knew she was scared and hurting.

She nodded. “And now you have Supergirl, too.”

“Kara…”

“She’s going!” The blonde screamed back at him as Platt set a hand on her shoulder. “She already knows about it, and she’s going. It was your selfishness that kept her out of it before, and all that did was get my brother kidnapped by a crazy rogue alien. You hired her to help this unit deal with these aliens, yet you’ve decided not to use her. Explain to me how that makes sense.”

She paused for a second and looked around at the team, none of whom answered her.

“Now, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I sure as hell want my brother back, so she’s going.”

Turning to leave, Voight stopped her. “Where are you going?”

“To find my brother and tell him what happened.” She told him, sharing a look with Platt.

“I’ll go with you,” Hailey spoke up. “If they have your brother, they might want you, too.”

Not arguing with her logic, Kara stormed out. When the women got to the garage, Kara turned to her friend. “Listen, Hailey, I know you mean well but-”

Hailey stopped her. “Hey, I’m just here to help you establish an alibi. I know you need to go. I’ll go talk to Will and fill him in. Call me if you find him.”

Staring at the other blonde for only a moment, Kara sighed. “He told you?”

She shook her head. “No, I figured it out. I tricked him into admitting it, but that’s not his fault. Your secret’s safe with me.”

“Thank you.” Tearing her clothes off, she nodded at Hailey. “I’ll be in touch.”

“Go get him, Supergirl.”

* * *

Groaning in pain, Jay’s body was limp as he was dragged across a dirty warehouse floor. As the Hellgrammite dropped him, he grunted, listening for anything that could help him get away. Then a voice filled his ears.

“Where is the Kryptonian?”

It took his injured brain a second to recognize the voice, but when it did, he felt his heart plummet into his stomach. He’d only heard the voice once when it was coming from the Kryptonian device he’d brought Kara a week earlier.

“She didn’t show.” The Hellgrammite told her. “But this is one of the human agents. I’m hoping it’s enough to keep you off my back.”

As their intended target walked away, Jay painfully flipped himself over and stared at the woman in front of him.

She knelt and smiled at him. “I’ve been waiting quite some time to get one of you alive.”

His heart beat wildly as he stared at her, hoping Kara wouldn’t be too crushed by the revelation. He knew he was lying to himself in that hope.

…

Flying over the city, Kara forced herself to slow down and focus on everything she was hearing. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and filtered through the noises that were assaulting her from every direction.

She could hear dogs barking, people speaking, bells ringing, cars honking, and sirens flying through the streets, but Kara only needed to hear one voice.

There were many times where she would have loved for Jay to stop talking or stop bothering her. Now, all she wanted was to hear his voice again, not only as proof that he was still alive but to help her find his location.

She knew it was a longshot, but she told herself she had to try.

* * *

Jay swallowed the anxiety in his throat as he pulled himself to a sitting position in front of the elder Kryptonian. He knew now what their race was capable of on this planet, and though he wanted to believe his sister’s birth mother was on their side, it was becoming clear that she was not.

He sincerely hoped Kara never had to find out.

“You’re bleeding.” The woman told him, standing above him as if to assert her dominance. “Human beings are so fragile. It’s amazing any of you make it out of infancy.”

She walked a few steps past him, causing her back to act as a barrier. Typically, Jay would question her tactical skills, but they both knew he was too injured to take her on at that moment.

Grunting as he turned, Jay stared at her. “Alura…”

This stopped her, causing her whole body to tense. “How do you know that name?”

“I saw a hologram of you.” He informed her. “A message from Krypton. It was on the ship that brought your daughter to Earth.”

Now the woman sighed, confusing him. There was something different about the Alura that stood in front of him from the version he’d seen only a week prior. He wondered if it was the result of Krypton’s destruction or losing her daughter for most of her life.

Either way, he had a feeling Kara would be upset at the sight of her.

“Twins were rare on Krypton. When we were children, Alura and I took great pleasure in confusing our parents.”

As realization dawned on him, Jay shook his head, now understanding why he saw those differences. “You’re Alura’s sister.”

“I am General Astra.” She corrected him, her sudden military voice and posture familiar to him. “And what is your name?”

He knew not to give his name to a hostile, so he just watched as she circled him again. He briefly wondered what his team would tell their friends, especially Will.

This time, she chuckled. “You are very brave. Braver than most of your race.”

“There is no reason to kill me or anyone in Chicago.” He said desperately.

“Is that what you think? That my goal is to simply kill humans?” Astra asked him, crouching to be on his level. “You are so very wrong. I am here to save you all.”

Glaring at the alien, Jay prayed his attempt at a rescue would work. “Supergirl will find me.”

* * *

Across town, Kara was still flying over the city, filtering out the useless noise. She knew she was still new to using her powers, but her mind and heart screamed at her that if she couldn’t get them to work when her brother’s life was on the line, she didn’t deserve them at all.

She was just getting frustrated when something different hit her ears.

_“Supergirl will find me.”_

Her eyes snapped open, and she pinpointed the direction it came from. “Jay.”

Shooting forward, she made sure her comm was working. “Hailey, call Voight. I found him.”

“Where?” The woman’s worried voice filled her ears.

“A warehouse at the corner of 78th and Washington. I’m going to get him back.”

“Supergirl, wait,” Hailey said, careful of using her name in case anyone else was listening. “Voight will want you to wait for backup.”

“I don’t care,” Kara told her honestly. “He had his chance. Now I’m taking mine.”

“Okay. We’ll meet you there.” The detective replied. “Be careful.”

This time, Kara didn’t reply as she sped to her brother’s location. She hoped he lived through this, or his captors wouldn’t be the only ones with hell to pay.


	25. Kryptonian Family Reunion

Landing just outside the warehouse, Kara took in her surroundings. It was dark now, as the sun had set during her search, and though she had x-ray vision, the lead in the area kept her from seeing what was hiding there.

Moving forward with caution, she approached the building entrance and tried to look around for anything that could give her a sign of either her brother or her current foe.

It barely took a second to find a familiar face.

Rushing forward, Kara sighed. “Jay.”

“No!” He waved her off. “Get out of here; it’s a trap.”

She froze instantly, trusting him as she always had. Turning to look around, she was punched in the face so hard she was thrown backward into a pile of cement and concrete. It took her a second to recover from the shock of the attack, but when she turned to face her opponent, her stomach clenched painfully.

With her hair blowing around in the breeze, the General stood in a battle stance, looking at her. “It’s been a long time, little one.”

Jay watched as Kara panted and stared at her, shell shocked. Having clearly expected the shock, Astra continued to speak.

“Look how you’ve grown.” She told her niece. “So beautiful.”

Now Kara stood. “But you…you died. When Krypton exploded…everyone died.”

She shook her head in disbelief, and the look on her face hurt Jay more than any injury he’d ever gotten in his entire life.

“You died.” Her breathing started to pick up. “Aunt Astra.”

Astra took no time in easing her niece’s pain. “Except I wasn’t on Krypton when it perished. I was a prisoner aboard Fort Rozz.”

Jay took a second to realize what her statement meant. According to their intel, if she had been a prisoner on Fort Rozz, it was because she’d been banished there by her own sister. He couldn’t imagine doing that to either Kara or Will, no matter how bad a crime they may have committed. To subject your own sibling to something so terrible, a person had to be either corrupt, void of emotion, or hiding something.

Then he remembered the woman in question was his sister’s mother and thought of what that meant for her.

Hearing that her mother had sent her aunt to a maximum-security prison that also happened to be located in a place where they would be trapped for eternity wouldn’t be easy to handle. He knew his sister well, better than anyone, and he knew this would crush her. He only hoped they would be able to help her back up when the time came for them to do so.

“Did your mother not tell you?” Astra continued. “How she sent me away? Banished her own blood? Imprisoned me for speaking the truth while she told only lies?”

“Why did she send you to Fort Rozz?” The blonde’s voice was quiet.

“For being a hero.”

‘No,’ Jay thought. ‘Kara’s a hero. You’re just insane.’

“For trying to save our world.”

Kara took a deep breath, trying to steady her emotions. She hadn’t forgotten her injured brother on the ground next to her, but seeing her aunt alive after so many years caused her mind to overload.

“I remember so many nights, sitting on your lap, listening as you taught me all the names of the stars.”

Her voice shook as she spoke, giving away the tears she was desperately trying to hold back.

“Then let me educate you once again, dear niece.” Astra took a step closer and brushed a lock of hair away from Kara’s eyes. “Your alliance with the humans is misplaced. Do not stand against me. I let one planet die; I will not do so again.”

Looking between them, Jay wasn’t sure what would happen. Astra was asking her to choose between her birth family and her chosen one. It was a struggle that Kara had been dealing with from the moment she entered their family, he knew, and though he figured she would see through Astra’s lies and help them out, he understood the pull of family allegiance.

Then he saw a familiar look of steel on his sister’s face and knew which side she had chosen.

“Funny,” her voice was steady now. “I was going to say the same thing.”

Once again, expecting the response, Astra threw another punch and sent Kara crashing through multiple walls. Her body landed with a cloud of dust, and though he knew she was bulletproof, he prayed she would be okay against one of her own.

Kara was on her feet instantly, and both women blasted their heat vision at each other. Knowing he had to help in some way, he crawled forward and grabbed the radio from his discarded vest.

“5021 George, requesting back up from Intelligence at-”

He yelled out as he was yanked into the air and came face to face with the Hellgrammite prisoner. In the wake of Kara’s family revelation, he’d forgotten the being was still out there. The Hellgrammite tossed him easily, throwing him into the fence that stood near them.

Before he could catch his breath, the alien was nearly on top of him, trapping him against the fence. Lifting his hand, he slowly retracted a stinger from his palm and waited as Jay stared at it in fear.

“It’s nothing personal.” He told the detective. “Just every species has a will to survive.”

Panting from the effort it took to keep himself upright with his injured leg, Jay looked him in the eyes. “You know what most species also have?” Then he kicked him in the groin, causing the Hellgrammite to freeze. “Those.”

It only stopped the insect for a second, but it gave Jay enough time to dodge the next punch. Grabbing his outstretched arm, he pulled it around the being’s back and stabbed its own stinger into its heart.

He gurgled for a second before Jay threw him on the ground and leaned back against the fence for support. Then he looked up to watch the other fight.

Across the building, Kara still had her heat vision focused on her aunt.

“Maybe I was wrong about you.” Astra taunted. “Join me, little one.”

“Never call me that again.” Kara roared and lifted herself into the air.

Forcing her beam of heat upward, Astra took the bait, and they hit one of the rafters, causing it to fall where Astra stood only a second before. Anticipating the General’s moves, Kara flew back as Astra came at her and used both fists to punch her in the chest.

Recovering quickly, Astra threw various punches, and Kara followed suit. Astra watched as Kara landed on the ground, looking up at the other Kryptonian. Then Kara charged again, only to be sent flying across the warehouse by a single kick.

This didn’t keep her down for long, and she was back in the fight a moment later. Jay watched as power lines exploded in sparks near them and started to worry that Astra had too much training to be defeated in this way.

His fears were confirmed when she kicked Kara in the face before tackling her and crashing into the hard ground below them.

“You chose for it to end like this, instead of allying with your family. Now you can die alone.” Lifting her by the neck, Astra sneered. “You might want to rethink the cape.”

“No!” Jay barely registered his scream as he watched his sister fly out of the building with more strength than he’d ever seen before.

Just as he started to hobble over to try and defend her, a blur of red and blue flew past him, slamming the other alien into a steel pillar. Then, almost as quickly as she’d arrived, Kara threw her aunt in the same direction she’d just come from and turned to finally acknowledge her brother.

“Jay.” The relief in her voice came out like a breath of fresh air for them both. “Are you okay?”

Stumbling forward, she met him halfway, and both grabbed each other in a tight embrace that they didn’t intend on breaking any time soon.

Unfortunately, Astra had other plans.

As soon as they’d gotten ahold of each other, a blast of air hit them, sending them back onto the ground. “I figured with how our fight went, you haven’t quite mastered that one yet.”

“Stop! Stay where you are!”

Both Jay and Kara looked up in time to see their team rush into the building, weapons trained on the hostile Kryptonian. However, the feeling of relief was short-lived as Astra sped across the room and grabbed Voight by the throat, lifting him into the air with ease.

“You possess no weapon that could harm me.” She informed him.

Voight didn’t bother to struggle against her. “You are so wrong.”

Lifting a glowing green dagger, he stabbed her in the arm. Her scream of pain echoed off the walls as she dropped him and turned to look at Kara, who was lying on the ground next to Jay, staring at her.

Then she launched herself into the air and exited through the roof. As the team ran over and helped them up, signaling into their radios for an ambulance for Jay, Ruzek looked up at the ceiling.

“Who the hell was that?”

Kara glanced at Jay before letting out a heavy sigh. “My aunt.”

Everyone turned their shock on her, seeing the sad look on her face.

Shaking his head, Voight holstered his weapons. “Any more family we should know about?”

Rolling her eyes, she moved to drape Jay’s arm around her shoulder, and with Hailey on the other side, they limped to the entrance to meet the approaching ambulance.


	26. Jay's Gift

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I decided that I am going to write the "Invasion!" crossover into this story. I think I figured out a way to do it that I'm happy with, and hopefully, you will be too.
> 
> I'm also putting this story as the first in a series. The series will be broken up as the Supergirl series are, so the season one storyline is this story (story one), season two is story two, season 3 is story 3...etc. After the Reign storyline (season 3), I don't know how I'm going to handle everything. I plan on writing this story through the "Crisis" crossover, so there will still be content; I just don't know if it will follow more of the One Chicago shows, Supergirl, or original content. However, I do know that I will not be touching on the COVID stuff, at least not directly, as I don't want to try and work that into all of this craziness.
> 
> If anyone has any questions or concerns, please let me know! Thanks.

Kara leaned against the doorway and watched Ethan remove the Hellgrammite stinger from her brother’s leg. He hissed at the sting he felt as it came out but handled the trauma better than any other person might have.

After making sure Hailey would stay with him on his journey to Med, Kara flew off and made sure to show up at the hospital after enough time that wouldn’t seem suspicious, but also in time to make sure he was well taken care of.

They both knew the other had a lot on their minds, so they stayed mostly silent, only answering questions when Ethan needed information on the injury. Once he was finished removing the stinger and stitching up the open wound, Ethan set an ice pack over the bandages and stepped back to address the siblings.

“Well, the wound doesn’t seem infected, and it didn’t hit any major muscles or arteries, so you should be fine to return to full duty in about a week.”

“Thanks, Doc.” Jay nodded to him, and they watched as he left the room and was replaced by Will.

“What the hell happened out there?” He demanded of them. “Hailey said something about Kara having an alien aunt that attacked you?”

She nodded. “Yeah, apparently Kal and I aren’t the only ones who survived the destruction of our homeworld.”

“My God, Kara.” He shook his head. “Are you okay?”

Biting her lip, the blonde ignored her question by looking at Jay. “How are you doing?”

He scoffed. “Well, I wish I had your healing powers.”

She shrugged. “I mean…you took down the Hellgrammite with no help from me.”

“Yeah, well, you were a little busy.” He quipped before realizing what he said.

The room fell silent again, and the boys watched as their sister dropped her gaze to the floor. Hailey had given Will the basics of what had happened, so he knew he felt as bad as Jay did when thinking of her fighting her family.

Not being able to stand the silence anymore, Will took a step closer to her. “I can’t even imagine what you must be feeling right now. I mean, after all this time, finding out you still have family.”

Now her head snapped up, and they saw sincerity mixed with love in her features. “ _You’re_ my family.” She stepped further into the room and faced both of them. “My aunt…we have to stop her. I have to be ready for her next time. My powers won’t be enough against her.”

This time she addressed Jay directly. “Show me how to fight. Train me to be as good as you.”

He smirked. “I’ll make you even better.”

Smiling, she walked to Jay’s other side and sat on the bed next to him. “On Krypton, I remember Aunt Astra and my mother always arguing.”

“Like siblings do.” Will teased.

She nodded. “And when I asked my mother why they could never get along, she said that it was because Astra didn’t have faith in people.”

Jay suddenly had an unreadable expression on his face, and he turned to look at Will. When he turned back, she looked up to see that sympathy and understanding replaced the indifference.

“You wanted to know if we have faith in you.” Jay deduced. “Of course, we do.”

“We always have.” The eldest of the three chimed in. “When you first came to live with us, our parents told us that you would be sad and fragile, having just lost your home, your parents, friends. But you never let that loss diminish your light.”

Jay sighed and shifted slightly, still holding the ice pack to his injury. “You’ve always had the heart of a hero, Kara, way before you put on that ‘S.’”

They all chuckled until Jay stood, and both siblings jumped forward. “Jay, what are you doing? You need to rest.”

“There’s something I need to show you.” He told her. “Something I’ve been working on.”

Seeing the happiness and mischievous look in his eye, she nodded. “Okay.”

As they turned to leave, Jay looked at Will. “You coming?”

* * *

Back at the district, Kara entered the bunker with Will, whose face was one of utter surprise. He hadn’t seen the new workspace yet, and everything blew him away.

“Wait, hang on, is all this stuff yours?”

Kara nodded. “Yep. It’s everything that was found when I landed. Including…”

Will ran his fingers over her pod and looked back at her in both awe and pain. “I can’t believe this is how you got here.”

“It was where I lived for over a decade.” She said honestly. “I may have been asleep in the Phantom Zone, but this is where I was, realistically.”

“Damn.” He pulled back and shook his head. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” She told him. “I may have lost a lot, but this pod brought me to you. As a child, I saw it as a curse; now, I know it was a blessing.”

Before he could respond, Jay walked in. “Okay, everyone has gone home, so we’re safe.”

“Awesome.” She shrugged. “So…what it is that you wanted to show me?”

Gesturing for her to follow him, he walked to a hallway behind a bank of computers. They arrived at a door, and Jay stopped, turning to her. “Your cousin has a base, or a fortress, I guess, according to the media. Obviously, we don’t know much about it, but we do know it’s a place that he’s been able to commune with your Kryptonian ancestors.”

Her brow furrowed. “How? They’re all gone.”

“They’re no longer alive, yes.” Jay nodded and then pointed to a palm scanner next to the door. “The door will only open for you.”

Glancing in confusion at Will, who shrugged back, she lifted her hand and allowed the screen to read her prints. Then the doors opened, and tears filled her eyes. Walking forward quickly into the blue-lit room, she felt her brothers behind her.

“Mom.” She stared at her for a moment.

 _“Hello, Kara.”_ The hologram of Alura responded.

Shaking her head, she looked back at Jay. “Wait…I don’t understand.”

“The message we found in your pod, it had some sort of code written into it.” He told her. “Obviously, I didn’t know what it was, so I sent it to Mouse. He looked it over and told me it was part of an interactive artificial intelligence program that’s culled from living memory. He helped me set all of this up. It’s not really her, but…”

“Jay…this is incredible.” Will breathed out.

 _“Kara, I have been programmed to offer you assistance here on Earth,”_ Alura told her.

Nodding, Kara swallowed down her tears and faced her brother again. “Thank you, Jay.”

Jay kissed her hair. “We’ll let you two talk.”

Will waited until they were out of the building and inside his car before turning to his brother. “Tell me the truth. How bad was it?”

“It was bad,” Jay told him, knowing he was talking about Kara and her aunt. “This Astra…she’s her mom’s twin.”

“God.” The redhead breathed out, staring at the building as if he could see their sister through the walls. “I can’t even imagine what she’s going through.”

“I thought it was Alura at first. Then when she told me who she was…I knew it would crush her.” Jay shook his head. “It was worse.”

“What do you mean?”

“From their conversation, it sounded like they were close. She kept calling her ‘little one’ as if she’d always done it. Kara said she remembered Astra teaching her things when she was little. Dude, the look on her face…” He trailed off for a second. “She was heartbroken.”

“Hailey told me they fought,” Will said quietly. “How did that happen?”

Jay stayed silent, lost in the memory of Kara’s face at the sight of her once-beloved aunt.

“Jay?”

Blinking as he forced the image away, he sighed. “Sorry. Uh, Astra made her choose.”

“Choose? Choose what?”

“Her or us.”

“Seriously?” Will was shocked. “Who makes someone choose something like that?”

“A revenge-seeking alien who wants to ‘save’ our planet from the same destruction of Krypton.” The detective shrugged. “Alura sent her to the alien prison.”

“Shit. Do you think Kara will be okay?”

“Honestly?” Jay rubbed his eyes. “I don’t know.”

Nodding his head, Will started the car. “Your place?”

Jay hesitated before shaking his head in disagreement. “Let’s head to her place. I have a feeling she’ll be needing some comfort when she gets home.”

After they left, Kara put her focus solely on the remaining image of her mother. “I…I’m not quite sure what to ask.”

_“Whatever it is you wish you could ask Alura, you may ask me.”_

Feeling the emotion bubble up in her chest, she let her tears fall. “I’d ask for a hug.”

_“I am not programmed to do that.”_

Nodding in understanding, she forced her brain to recalculate. “Then tell me about my Aunt Astra.”


	27. Party Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Kara's relationship with Platt and Mouch. It fuels all of my feels while I write.

It was dark in the bullpen as everyone had gone home for the night, with only the light of Kara’s computer shining in the corner.

Between her father’s death, coming out as Supergirl, and finding out her aunt was alive, Kara had not had the best few weeks. No one had seen or heard from Astra since their fight in the warehouse, other than a few rogue aliens, but the blonde Halstead knew it was only a matter of time before she showed herself again.

Since then, she spent a lot of her time recording anything she could remember about her aunt, including everything she had been told by her parents and the hologram of her mother. She’d gotten most of their useful information from it, but it didn’t help ease her pain at all.

In all honestly, Kara wasn’t entirely sure how she felt. When she first saw Astra again, she’d been relieved that another member of her family had survived the destruction. Then reality hit her full force, and she was forced to accept that some of her memories may have been faked by her brain as a coping mechanism to handle the trauma she’d experienced.

She was so lost in thought, she almost missed her phone ringing. “Hey, Winn. Listen, I’m not really up for talking right now.”

“Kara, where are you?” Winn shouted into the phone, and Kara had to pull it away from her ear.

“I’m at work. Wait, where are you?” He didn’t usually go to clubs or parties, so she was confused by the loud music and voices she heard around him.

“Have you looked at a clock or even a calendar lately?” He asked quickly.

Furrowing her brow, she opened the app on her computer, and her jaw dropped. “Shit! I’m on my way.”

Hanging up on her friend, Kara nearly leapt from her chair. Grabbing her things with the ease of her superspeed, she raced to her car and drove as quickly as she could to her apartment to change.

She couldn’t believe she’d forgotten the joint bachelor/bachelorette party she and Jay were throwing for Will and Natalie and knew they would give her shit for almost missing it.

* * *

Throwing open the door to Molly’s, Kara ran in so fast she slipped on a puddle of spilled beer. She fumbled for a second before strong hands steadied her, and she looked up to see Jay watching her with concern.

“You good?”

She nodded. “Yep. So good.”

He gave her a look that only a brother could give. One that clearly called ‘bullshit’ on her response.

“I’m good, Jay.” She told him. “I was working on my notes about Astra, and I just…lost track of time.”

“You know you don’t have to do that alone, right?” He looked sad for her.

“I know.” She forced a smile onto her face. “But right now, let’s forget her and celebrate our brother, who miraculously found someone to marry him.”

This time, Jay laughed. “Right? Natalie deserves better than him.”

“Don’t let him hear you say that.”

The siblings turned and smiled at Winn, who stood next to them with two drinks in his hands. “You double-fisting it tonight, Schott?”

Rolling his eyes at Jay’s comment, he handed one of the glasses to Kara. “Like you’re one to talk. I figured Kara would need a drink after her rush here, not that it actually does anything for her.”

“Hey, it’s not my fault this planet has weak-ass liquor.” She teased and looked up to see the happy couple walking towards them. “Incoming…”

“There you are!” Natalie smiled as she hugged Kara. “I was worried you weren’t coming.”

“I’m so sorry.” She told her future sister-in-law sincerely. “I got caught up at work and lost track of time.”

“Everything okay?” Will kept his tone light, but she knew he was worried.

She wanted to be annoyed by her brothers’ concern, but she couldn't blame them after everything that had happened.

“Yeah, just compiling some research on someone we’re keeping an eye on.” She shrugged, knowing that it was enough for both the boys to understand and Natalie to not question. “But now we’re here, and it’s time to celebrate! Nat, we were just saying that you deserve way better than this guy.”

“Yeah, are you sure you want to be stuck with him?” Jay picked up her joke, knowing she wanted to move on from the former subject.

“Hey! I’m not really feeling the love here, guys.” Will pouted.

Shaking her head, Kara grinned. “Oh, you’ll get over it, you big baby.”

As the boys bickered playfully, Natalie turned to Kara and Winn. “Thank you for this party, Kara. You guys didn’t have to do this.”

“Hey, you’re about to be my sister.” Kara reminded her. “I won’t be outnumbered anymore. Besides, I’ve never had a sister, so I’m really excited about it.”

“Well, good, because I have a feeling I’ll need help hauling those two out of here tonight.” She laughed.

Kara shook her head. “I’ll make sure they don’t give you issues.”

“You know, I have to ask.” Natalie glanced at the boys. “How is it that you are so much better at drinking than they are?”

“Let’s be honest; I’m better than them at everything.”

The other woman nodded. “Good point.”

“We heard that.”

As they laughed at her brothers, they heard a group of people from Med calling them from across the room. Nodding her head to Natalie to show her it was okay to go, Kara looked around the room and saw Platt and Mouch sitting at a table by themselves.

Winking at Winn, she gestured to them, and the friends moved in their direction. Smoothing down the back of her green dress, Kara plopped into the seat next to Mouch, causing him to jump.

“What the hell?” He shouted as Winn sat on the chair next to Platt. “You can’t scare an old man like that!”

“Oh, stop it, you’re not old.” She smiled at him affectionately.

Across the table, Platt pulled out her phone. “Okay, picture time.”

“Trudy…”

“Hey, we don’t have kids of our own. You’re the closest we’ve got, okay? Give us this one.” She scolded the younger woman, but Kara just smirked and rolled her eyes.

She smiled with Mouch for the picture and then shared a look with her friend. “So it’s been a crazy few weeks, am I right?”

Winn nodded. “For you, maybe.”

“Wait.” Mouch was confused. “What happened?”

Knowing what they were doing, Platt drank her beer before shrugging. “Have you guys found her yet?”

Kara shook her head. “Nope. I’ve been searching both at work and after, but I’ve got nothing.”

“Who?” Mouch looked between them. “Will someone please fill me in?”

“My aunt,” Kara told him and sipped her drink.

“I didn’t know you guys had any other family.” He said sympathetically.

“We don’t.” She waited for the gears in his head to turn, and once she knew he understood, she continued. “Yeah, apparently, my biological aunt survived the explosion at home.”

“When did you find out?” He asked her before looking at his wife. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Don’t blame her.” Kara shrugged. “It was the day Jay got kidnapped.”

His mouth opened slightly, and he hesitated before speaking. “Wait, when Brett and Foster got back to 51, they said it was one of those aliens that attacked.”

Winn nodded. “Oh, it was.”

Platt chuckled. “You’re still not getting this?”

Mouch looked between them all for a second before shaking his head. “Hang on, what’s happening here?”

Dropping her head with a chuckle, Kara sighed and glanced around. Then she carefully slid her glasses off and stared at him.

“Okay, I’m confused,” Mouch said again. “Hey, by the way, has anyone told you that with your glasses off, you look a lot like…”

As he trailed off, Kara just smiled and nodded, sliding them back on. “Which is why I only take them off when I’m at home or in the suit.”

“Oh my god.” The firefighter’s face went pale as he stared at her. “You’re…”

“Yeah, Mouch. I am.” She patted his shoulder. “I’ve been feeling bad about keeping the secret from you, so I figured we’d let the cat out of the bag tonight. After all, you’re family.”

“Who else knows?” He wondered, looking around at everyone partying.

“The boys, Trudy, Winn, Hailey, and now you.” She informed him. “For now, that’s good with me.”

“Hang on,” he scoffed. “are you telling me that Voight has no idea?”

At his question, Platt shook her head. “I wondered the same thing, so I put some feelers out. He has no idea. He’s too caught up with what Supergirl’s hiding and the emergence of these aliens to see what’s right in front of him. Besides, he trusts Kara, so he doesn’t think she’s hiding anything. Otherwise, he might have put it together by now.”

“I sort of feel bad, but then he says something about not trusting her, and it pisses me off, so I figure it’s a trade-off for now.” The blonde admitted. “I’m sure I’ll either tell him, or he’ll find out eventually.”

“Can I yell across this crowded room right now and tell him he’s an idiot?” Mouch asked, looking up at the sergeant seated at the bar.

Kara grinned. “Yes, but also no.”

Shaking her head at the two people she loved most, Platt turned to Winn. “So, I guess not all of your conspiracy theories are wrong.”

He nodded. “Yeah, apparently. I just never expected my best friend to be one of them!”

“That’s right!” Mouch sighed. “This means you’re technically an alien?”

“Not technically, Mouch, I _am_ an alien.” She told him before winking at Platt. “So, do you have any questions?”

He nodded almost robotically. “So many…”

The girl let out a loud laugh, and though she didn’t know it, both Winn and Platt felt better seeing her happy again. If only for one night.


	28. Code Name: RT

Kara hid her head as she walked through the back entrance of District 21. It had been almost a week since Will and Natalie’s party, and they still hadn’t seen or heard from Astra. Though she knew she shouldn’t let it get to her, it was, and that frustration was now coming out in front of citizens.

She had gone out as Supergirl earlier that morning and had saved a group of children in a school zone from getting run over by two men fighting as they drove. When one of the men confronted her about damaging their cars, she snapped back and had accidentally injured him in the process. She wasn’t proud of what she had done, but she couldn’t take it back now.

Because of this, she hoped Jay wasn’t there yet so she could hide and avoid the confrontation she knew would happen eventually. Unfortunately for her, he was waiting for her as she walked up the stairs.

“Hey, bro.” She said, quickly walking past him to her desk.

Ignoring her attempt to blow him off, he waited until she set her stuff down before grabbing her arm and hauling her into the break room, shutting the door behind them and pointing to the newspaper on the table. “‘Supergirl scares young children at a local school.’ Road rage! What were you thinking?”

Rolling her eyes, she leaned against the counter. “They were about to run over an entire soccer team. It’s always men who go crazy behind the wheel!”

“You cannot lose control like that!” He told her, and she straightened her back at his tone.

“Those two idiots nearly killed people, and you’re getting mad at me?” She scoffed.

He shook his head. “That’s the thing, Kar; I’m not mad. I am controlling my anger. I suggest you get into the habit.”

“Really, Jay? I’ve seen you lose your shit thousands of times.” She reminded him.

He sighed. “Remember what Lane told you? There are people out there who fear your cousin. It’s not because he has god-like powers. It’s because of what he might to do them if he ever lost his temper.”

“But we’re not here to hurt people!” She exclaimed.

“Tell that to the guy you put in the hospital this morning.” He said quickly. “Look, I’m sorry. I know you’re stressed about your aunt. But you can’t take it out on other people.”

Kara looked at her shoes and didn’t respond.

After a moment of silence, Jay stepped forward and put his hand on her shoulder. “Listen, this isn’t how I wanted to start the day.”

Kara watched as he walked over to the fridge and pulled out a box of donuts. “Are those crullers?”

He nodded. “Happy Earth Birthday, Kara.”

This time, she sent him a small smile. “Earth Birthday?”

“Yeah, well, now that I know you’re not from here, I realized this probably wasn’t actually the day you were born.”

After she’d landed on Earth, Pat and Eliza had realized that Krypton hadn’t kept the same calendar as they did on Earth and decide to tell everyone her birthday was the same date she arrived at their house. She was surprised Jay had figured that out.

“Mom and Dad figured it was easier this way.” She told him. “I don’t know what day coincides with the Kryptonian calendar, anyway.”

He nodded. “Hey, it’s the day you became a Halstead, so it’s good enough for me.”

“Earth Birthday.” She repeated. “I like the sound of that. Did you come up with that?”

“Hey, don’t act so surprised. I can be clever when I want to be.” He smirked.

She was about to respond when the door opened, and Ruzek stepped in. “Uh, sorry for interrupting.”

“What’s up, Adam?” She questioned, seeing the nervous look on his face.

“The mayor’s here.” He said quickly.

“What the hell does he want?” Jay wondered as they followed him back into the bullpen.

Kara winced. “Probably nothing good.”

They waited as the mayor approached their group with his security and a man who looked more like a scientist. “Sergeant Voight.”

“Mayor Lane.” Voight’s normally gruff voice was even tighter. “What can we do for you?”

“First, we will wait for your resident alien to arrive.” He informed everyone. “I had your desk sergeant make the phone call.”

“Supergirl?” Kara wondered. “What do you need her for?”

“Now that is none of your business, Miss Halstead.” The mayor turned his gaze on her knowingly. “In fact, why don’t you take the rest of the morning off? I’m sure your sergeant here wouldn’t mind.”

Glancing first at Jay, she looked at Voight, who nodded in annoyance at the other man’s orders. Without saying anything, she grabbed her belongings, including her new box of crullers, and left.

As she hurried down the main staircase, Kara’s eyes caught Platt’s, and both women made their way into the back room. Setting her things down on a bench, the blonde looked at her friend. “Can you hide this stuff for me? You can even have some of the crullers.”

“Of course,” Platt told her. “Do you think this is about this morning?”

Kara winced. “I don’t know. I hope not.”

Looking around to make sure no one was coming into the room, Kara sped into her suit. Platt helped her sneak out the back door and stopped her just before she could fly off.

“Hey, by the way, happy birthday.”

Kara smiled. “Thanks.”

Then she was gone and landed a second later at the roundup entrance, where the group had moved. Looking around, she nodded at Jay before frowning at the mayor. “Well, I’m here.”

“So, I’ll ask again.” Voight faced him. “Is there something we can do for you?”

“I need you to approve an immediate transfer.” The man told him. “A member of your field unit to my command.”

“Really.” Voight narrowed his eyes. “And who would that be?”

“The lady in red.”

As everyone turned to look at her, Jay looked at the mayor. “Technically, Supergirl doesn’t work for the department.”

“When I tasked your unit with this job, I didn’t expect you to recruit foreign assistance.”

Voight shrugged, and his jaw twitched. “Yeah, well, she can be helpful.”

“Why do you need me?” Kara interrupted, unsure of what was happening.

Lane continued to speak to Voight. “The army has been developing something. An anti-insurgent combat device. Project code-named, RT. They have tasked me with getting her to help test it for them.”

“Hang on,” Antonio interrupted him. “what if she says no?”

“She has no choice.” He told them. “We have an executive order forcing you to comply. It’s been signed by the President. You can take it up with her if you like.” Then he turned to Kara. “Unless you don’t think you’re up to it.”

The blonde glared at him. “I’ll do it.”

“Supergirl, you don’t have to.” Jay turned to her quickly.

Looking up from the contract, Voight nodded. “I agree with Detective Halstead.”

Ignoring them both, Kara lifted her chin as if daring the mayor to try anything. “What do you need me to do?”

He scoffed. “Fight my robot.”

“It’s not a robot.” The scientist told them, causing everyone to face him. “It’s an anthropomorphic pseudo entity with combat capabilities.”

“It’s a what, now?” Kevin questioned, voicing what everyone else was thinking.

Lane sighed. “I stand corrected, Doctor.”

The doctor pressed a button on his tablet, and the large container next to him opened to reveal a human-shaped robot in all red. “I call it Red Tornado.”

“Supergirl, I don’t think this is a-”

“When and where?” She replied, ignoring Jay’s protest.

“Tomorrow. Noon. I’ll have my assistant send over the address.”

“Fine. Bring it on.”


	29. Brotherly Love

As she sat on her balcony, Kara stared up at the stars. Though Jay had been right about her ‘Earth Birthday’ being the day she became a Halstead, it also marked the day she considered the anniversary of Krypton's death. It was no secret that she loved her family and friends on Earth, but she still mourned the lives and experiences lost on that day.

Wearing a gray and white baseball shirt and black leggings, she curled up in her chair and imagined what her life would have been like if she had continued to grow up on her home planet. Though she longed for it, she couldn’t imagine her life without Jay and Will by her side.

She only wished there could have been a way to have both.

Though she was lost in thought, she wasn’t startled by the sound of her front door opening inside her apartment. She figured after everything that had happened that day that someone would be coming by to check on her, and anyone who would do it had a key, so she continued to watch the stars until she heard a voice.

“Hey, you here?”

‘So it’s Will they sent.’ She thought.

“Physically, yes.” She called back. “Mentally…well, that’s debatable.”

“Yeah, but that’s not any different from any other day.” He quipped, sitting next to her, a beer in his hand that he had grabbed from her fridge. “I texted you a few times.”

She checked her phone and finally saw the messages she had missed.

**_Will  
_ ** _Happy birthday! Drinks on me tonight?_

**_Will_ ** _  
I saw the news. You okay?_

**_Will_ ** _  
I talked to Jay. He’s worried about you._

**_Will_ ** _  
You home? I could go for a beer._

**_Will_ ** _  
I’m coming over. You better have something to drink._

Wincing, she looked back at him. “Sorry. I turned my phone to silent.”

“I thought I might have to get Jay to put out an APB on Supergirl.” He teased, but the tone behind his words was tense.

Looking down at her own drink, Kara fiddled with her glasses. “What are you even doing here? You’re wedding is like…right around the corner. You should be at home with your family.”

“You are my family.” He reminded her sternly. “And I told Nat what today was, so she understood. She told me to tell you happy birthday and that she’s got a gift for you.”

“Still, I feel bad.” She told him. “Is he okay?”

Knowing what she meant, Will sighed. “Broken wrist, a few shattered bones. He’ll need surgery, but he’ll heal.”

She closed her eyes to block the feeling of humiliation they held and felt his gaze on her.

“What happened out there, Kara?”

Standing, she walked up to the railing and leaned against it. “I just got so mad. Those guys nearly killed a bunch of kids. Then that guy got in my face and tried to throw a punch, and I just…reacted.”

“I saw the clip online.” He admitted quietly. “I have never seen you get that mad. Ever. Not during a fight with dad, or Jay and I, or even in any footage against another alien.”

“I don’t know what to tell you, Will.” She stared out at the city. “Listen, Jay already yelled at me this morning, so if that’s why you came here, don’t bother. I don’t have it in me to fight with you.”

“That isn’t why I came.” He told her. “Not the only reason, anyway.”

“Sorry.” She turned to face him. “I’m just on edge today.”

“I can see that.”

Wanting to change the subject, she smirked. “So, apparently, I’m fighting a robot tomorrow.”

At her comment, Will’s brows lifted. “Robot? I didn’t know CPD used robots.”

She shook her head. “It’s from the military, actually.”

“Wow.” He looked shocked. “You do know you can say no, right?”

“I can’t.” She insisted. “I have to show Mayor Lane that I can be a team player. That Kal and I can be trusted.”

“You don’t have to prove anything to anyone.” Will set his beer down. “He will come to see that through all the good you do. You just have to give it time.”

She went silent again and sat back in her chair. Will copied her actions, and the two watched the city lights shine against the dark sky. After a few minutes, Kara sighed.

“I got really lucky.”

Turning his head to look at her, Will furrowed his brow. “How so?”

“You.” She continued to stare at the sky. “And Jay.”

“Well, I’m not sure how lucky you got. We can all agree we’re idiots.” He chuckled, taking a sip of his beer.

She looked at him. “I’m serious, Will. I don’t know what I would have done if I didn’t have you guys through all of this.”

“You’d find a way to make it work.” He told her. “You were born to be Supergirl.”

“I meant surviving on this planet.”

He saw the vulnerable, sincere look on her face and sat forward. “Kara, there’s something you should know. You can survive anything. The very fact that you’re here proves that. But I know how much you miss Krypton.”

She looked down. “I’m sorry. You think I would have worked through that by now.”

“Are you kidding me? That’s not something someone just gets over.” He reminded her. “What you went through was horrible, and I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if you never got over it.”

“Thank you for coming tonight.” She moved a piece of hair out of her face.

“Of course.” His face showed only love. “Jay wanted to come too, but he was worried he’d upset you more after everything that happened today.”

Rolling her eyes, she picked up her phone and waited as it rang.

_“What?”_

“I’ve got cold beer, and we’re about to order some pizza.” She told her other brother. “Come over and help Will eat his share, so it doesn’t go to waste.”

_“You sure?”_

“It’s my birthday; you can’t say no to me.”

He chuckled. _“Fine. I’ll be there in fifteen.”_

“Yay!” She hung up and frowned at the look on Will’s face. “What?”

“We’re getting pizza?”

“I’m sorry, did you want Chinese?” She quipped back.

“No, I’m just saying I don’t ever leave pizza behind.” He sent a mock glare in her direction. “I bet I’ll eat more than Jay.”

“I’ll pay you twenty bucks if you do.” She cocked an eyebrow. “I’d bet on myself, but there’s no contest there.”

“I hope you get fat one of these days. It will make me feel better about my life.” He joked as they stood to go inside.

“Ha! Not on this planet.”


	30. Fighting Red Tornado

The sun was shining brightly as the Intelligence Unit stood in the field and watched as Mayor Lane’s team unloaded the case that held their robot.

“I can’t believe you talked us into that last night.” Jay groaned, trying to hide his hangover.

Standing next to her brother, Kara crossed her arms and sighed. “Hey, I didn’t tell you guys to drink that much.”

“No, you just made a bet on who could eat more pizza.” He reminded her. “That’s cruel and unusual, considering you can eat us under the table.”

This time she smirked. “Easiest twenty dollars I’ve ever made.”

They continued to watch the mayor’s team roll out their equipment, and finally, Kara looked at him. “I don’t say this often, but I am craving a good fight right now.”

“Just keep your cool.” He told her, his hands on his hips. “You got this.”

As the Red Tornado walked out of its case, the siblings stared at it. Once they got it into position, Jay patted her on the arm, and everyone walked away to give them space to fight. Walking over to the station that Lane’s team had step up, Jay stepped up next to Antonio.

“I got twenty-dollars on the robot.” The older detective said to him.

Jay scoffed. “Forty on the alien.”

In front of them, Voight looked at Lane. “If at any point I don’t like what I’m seeing, I’m ending this.”

“Which I would completely understand,” the mayor told him. “if you had any authority over me.” Then he looked at the military scientist. “Dr. Morrow. You can begin.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Standing across from the red machinery, Kara shook out her hands and prepared to test out what it could do. Just as the thought crossed her mind, it lifted its head, and she knew it was game time.

Getting in the fighting position that Jay had taught her, she focused on her target. Curing her hands into fists, she bent her knees slightly and narrowed her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she waited for the Red Tornado to makes it move.

Immediately, its hands started to spin, and he lifted them, forcing wind to pick up in massive forces. It reminded Kara of her freeze breath just before it sent her flying through the air. When he finally realized what happened, she turned in time to see it fire two missiles in her direction. They hit her before she could move, exploding on impact.

“What the hell?” She shouted to herself.

Back on the ground, Lane looked at Voight. “Maybe she’s not taking this seriously.”

Hearing the comment from her spot in the sky, Kara shot off as the robot sent another missile her way. She was pissed off now, and she knew she had to up her game in order to win the fight. Flying face down, she broke through the ground and disappeared under the soil.

Looking around for any sign of her, the Red Tornado’s targeting system beeped as it lost detection of her. Then a fast-moving tunnel was seen just barely above the ground, and a moment later, a blur of blue and red flew out and knocked it to the ground.

As it started to stand, Kara stormed over and threw multiple punches while dodging one or two from the AI. Though it tried to fight back, Kara’s strength seemed to overpower it.

Back behind the station, Dr. Morrow’s tablet started beeping. “It’s experiencing system damage.” Then he looked at Jay, who stood behind him. “The test is over. Pull the plug. Now.”

“Supergirl, you won.” He said into the comms.

Outside, Kara missed his message and continued to throw her punches. When that didn’t satisfy her, she waited until it lifted its arm and used her freeze breath to cover it in ice before punching it again, severing the hand from the arm.

“Supergirl, stand down,” Voight yelled into his comm. “That’s enough.”

Finally hearing the voices in her ear, she stepped back, panting. Seeing the damage she’d inflicted on the bot, she waited as it looked down at its ‘injuries.’

Then it shot into the air and disappeared from view.

As everyone ran over to her, Jay was at the front of the group. “Are you hurt?”

“No.” She told him, still trying to locate the AI.

“She must have triggered his emergency self-preservation function.” Dr. Morrow told them.

“I can’t see it.” Kara, now panicked, told them.

The doctor nodded. “He’s in stealth mode, making him one-hundred percent undetectable.”

“This is your fault.”

Turning, the entire unit saw Lane get in Kara’s face and unknowingly hovered behind her in support.

“You asked me to fight it!” She shouted back.

“And now your recklessness has unleashed an uncontrollable killing machine on Chicago.” He hollered back before storming away.

Turning to face each other, Jay looked at Antonio. “Looks like you owe me forty bucks.”

“Yeah, yeah,” The man sighed. “don’t rub it in.”

“Sergeant, I’m so sorry. I didn’t-” Kara started to speak when Voight cut her off.

“Not your fault.” He told her, staring after the mayor. “There’s something they aren’t telling us. I say we figure out what that is, so we know what we’re dealing with here.”

“I’ll call Kara,” Jay told him, sending a covert glance to her. “She can start looking into it.”

“Good. I want to know everything about this Red Tornado.”

* * *

Back in the bunker, everyone gathered as Lane and his crew stormed in. “A billion-dollar investment, eleven years of R&D, and what do we have? A paperweight.”

Back in her civilian clothes, Kara stayed silent as she worked at her computer, knowing she would only make things worse. Instead, she fiddled with her glasses and got to work analyzing the materials that made up the armor of her flying red foe. It would take a little while to narrow down the exact elements used, but she wasn’t overly concerned about it.

She knew now what the thing was capable of, and if she had to, she would fight it again. There was no way she would let it destroy her city or harm any of the citizens that lived in it. She knew that if it came down to it, she would sacrifice herself to save them, and she was secure in the knowledge of it.

Though they weren’t thrilled with the idea, her brothers knew it too. She’d spoken to them about it over dinner, and they knew now that this had been her destiny. They couldn’t keep her from it, no matter how much they wanted to protect her, and they would just have to deal with it if and when the time came.

Turning to face the group, Lane made sure they knew how angry he was. “I want this thing found and destroyed before it turns Chicago into a war zone.”

“Destroy it?” Dr. Morrow asked. “You can’t do that.”

“I’ve already called your superior.” He told the man. “We agreed that the last thing the army needs is a bunch of wounded civilians on the nine o’clock news.”

Sharing a look with her brother, Kara could see that he was worried about her fight and how this would turn out. None of them liked the idea of an out-of-control murderous robot on the loose, and they would all sleep better knowing it was gone.

Everyone except its creator, that was.

“I’ve invested too much time and effort into this…”

“Into what, Morrow?” Lane argued. “The Red Tornado failed. And so did you. You can leave now.”

Everyone in Intelligence watched as the doctor stormed out before glancing at each other. He didn’t seem happy, and they all got the feeling Lane wouldn’t be hearing the last of him.


	31. Anger Behind the Anger

“This is pointless.”

Typing into her computer was getting on Kara’s nerves, but Voight had asked her to stay late to try and locate the Red Tornado, and she couldn’t tell him no. Jay had offered to stay with her, but the look she’d given him had him backing off with the promise of dropping off food if she needed it.

That had been three hours earlier, and Kara was becoming weary and tense with every lead that didn’t pan out. It seemed as though the AI had been programmed with incredible technology allowing it to disappear, and not even her x-ray vision could pick it up.

“Well, don’t you look chipper.”

Jumping out of her seat, Kara growled at the interruption. “Yeah, well, if this stupid robot would just come out and say hello, I’d be the happiest goddamn alien on the planet.”

Platt shook her head. “I think you’d probably have more luck with a flyover. You’d probably just run into it.”

“Gee, why didn’t I think of that?” Kara snapped at her. “Oh, I know! Because that would involve telling my boss why I wasn’t here at the computer searching. You really don’t get how this whole ‘secret identity’ thing works do you? God, can you just cut the snark for one night? I just need a little goddamn peace for once!”

Kara’s eyes widened immediately as she stared at her friend in horror. “Oh, my God. Trudy, I’m…I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean that. I…I…I don’t know what happened. I just snapped.”

Platt narrowed her eyes as she looked at her pseudo-daughter. Walking forward, she pressed a button, turning the computer off. “Forward the phones and your system. We’re going.”

Kara stayed in her seat, looking at her in confusion. “Where are we going?”

Turning back to look at her, Platt glared. “Chop chop.”

Looking after her in embarrassment and fear, Kara quickly did as told and ran after her mentor.

* * *

Sitting in a booth at Molly’s, Kara nursed her beer. It was a rare night where none of their friends were around, so she didn’t feel the need to pretend as she normally would have.

Across from her, Platt took a long sip of her own beer and leveled Kara with a glance. “Here’s the thing, Kara, everybody gets angry. Everybody. I mean, come on, you know this, you work for Voight. And there is no pill that will eradicate this particular emotion. I know this because if there were such a pill, I would be popping those babies like Pez.”

“Trudy, uh…I’m so sorry. I’m…really sorry about-”

“You apologize too much,” Trudy told her. “which is a separate, although not unrelated, problem. No, this is about work. And anger. Whatever you do, you cannot get angry at work, especially when you’re a girl.

“When I was a patrol cop, my sergeant picked up a chair and threw it out of the window because somebody finished off the coffee and didn’t refill it. And no, he did not open the window first. If I had thrown a chair or my God, if I had thrown a napkin, it would have been all over the department, and I would have been reprimanded. It would have been professional and cultural suicide.”

Fiddling with her glasses, Kara frowned. “Then what do you do?”

Now Platt sat back in her seat and sighed. “Well, you need to find a release. You need to…take up some boxing or start screaming at your housekeeper. But the real key, Kara, is that you need to figure out what’s really bothering you.

“For example, I am annoyed with some of our new recruits, so I took it out on you. And you’re so mad at me, but—and this is the important bit—you weren’t really mad at me. You were really mad at something else. And you need to find…find that anger behind the anger. And you need to figure out what is really making you mad and upset.”

Looking down at her beer, Kara nodded. “You’re right.”

Eyeing her carefully, Platt leaned forward. “I think I know a way. Just let me know when you’re ready for it, and you can use our garage. You can even bring the chuckle twins if you want.”

“Thanks, Trudy,” Kara said as a high-pitched frequency hit her ears. “Shit.”

“What’s up?”

She looked up at the gray-haired woman. “One of the boys hit their panic button. I think they found Red Tornado.”

“Where is it?” Platt asked, already throwing money on the table and getting ready to follow her into battle.

“Nowhere good.”

* * *

It was dark in Millenium Park as people strolled through Cloud Gate Plaza together. Among them, Jay and Will walked side by side, talking about their little sister.

“It was insane, dude,” Jay told him. “She practically destroyed the thing.”

Will shook his head. “I wish she’d tell us what’s going on in her head; you know, let us help her.”

“Honestly?” Jay looked at his brother with a dejected look on his face. “I don’t think she knows.”

The redhead opened his mouth to speak again when two cars pulled up alongside them, and the mayor stepped out. “Detective Halstead. I see Sergeant Voight isn’t taking our new threat very seriously.”

“He has our techie working after hours to find your crazy murder robot,” Jay told him, hostility clear in his voice. “So no, actually, he is taking this seriously.”

“You better be careful, detective; you wouldn’t want to-”

He couldn’t finish his sentence as the wind started to pick up rapidly. Both men looked up, and Jay instantly grabbed his gun, stepping in front of Will at the sight of the Red Tornado. Behind him, Will slowly clicked a button on his watch, signaling his sister.

She had only given them the watches the night before, but he sincerely hoped they worked. He got the idea behind it—using a high frequency that only the Kryptonians could hear—and knew that her cousin’s friend had one as well. She had told them that Winn had made them for everyone who knew her secret, and he prayed that their friend was as smart as he seemed.

Stepping slightly away from his younger brother, Will stared at the robot in shock. “I’m guessing that’s the robot?”

“I wonder how you figured that out?” Jay yelled at him, trying to get people out of the way.

Will followed his lead, helping people to safety as quickly as he could. They both knew that this AI wasn’t here to play nice, and they wanted to minimize the casualties as much as possible.

It seemed as though they had the right idea when it raised its hand, forcing hurricane-strength winds in Jay’s direction, sending him flying back into the reflective monument. “Jay!”

Running to him, Will knelt and ignored the cars pulling up near them. Stepping out of one, Platt sent a look his way, only turning to the AI and mayor when Will motioned that he could care for their loved one.

“I order you to disengage immediately!” The mayor yelled, showing no fear in his confrontation.

Platt wasn’t scared either. She knew backup was on the way.

They watched as the Red Tornado lowered itself to the ground and watched them. When it lifted its arm to throw a punch at Lane, Will started to stand. He paused when a blur of blue landed and caught its fist in her hand.

“I’m not going to let you hurt them.” She told it, the need to fight clear in her eyes.

She immediately threw a punch, but the robot seemed to be ready for every attack she gave. As Will helped his brother stand, blood running down his forehead, they watched their sister kick the red machine. It skidded backward across the pavement before looking back up at them.

The group stood in the area now devoid of civilians watching as the wind picked up again and a massive tornado formed in front of them. Then the AI stepped out from the center and walked toward Kara, the weather formation flying down the street.

Looking between the two paths of destruction, Kara was torn. She knew she needed to stop the tornado from destroying the city and hurting people, but she couldn’t let the Red Tornado hurt her family either.

Then, as if deciding for her, the AI shot into the sky and flew away.

Deciding she would find it a different way, she spent no time waiting as she too took off for the sky and went straight for the spinning tower of destruction. Though she knew the act would send her brothers into a fit, she shot into the middle of it and started to fly in the direction that went against the wind.

Screaming with the force it took to fight the wind and debris, she forced herself to keep going. Just when she thought she might not be able to stop it, the air started to feel lighter, and soon after, the twister was gone.

Floating in the air above the traffic jam that had formed, Kara looked around, her chest heaving from the effort. She ignored the audience pointing at her in awe and happiness, focusing on how she would find her foe again.

Then she turned and flew back in the direction of her brothers, knowing that Jay would need medical help.


	32. A United Front

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys. I am so sorry for the delay in posting. Long story short--between the holiday, a carpal tunnel flare-up, signing up for school, and being sick--one of our very close-knit fire department family died suddenly on New Year's Day. It's been something that has shocked us and left us with a sense of real sadness and upheaval. We've been lucky enough to never have lost someone that was an active-duty firefighter so we have no protocol and no experience with it. I ask for patience as we try to figure out how to handle this.
> 
> Rest in Peace JVP.

Sitting in his room in the ED, Kara stood next to Voight, Platt, and Will as Connor finished his exam on Jay. Though he’d hit his head, he didn’t seem to have a concussion or need stitches, which everyone was grateful for.

Looking at the group, Connor sighed. “Well, nothing’s broken. He’s lucky.”

“You saved my life.” Jay looked at his sister, still in her Supergirl persona. “Thank you.”

“You let that thing get away.”

Turning, everyone saw Mayor Lane walking up to them. Knowing that Kara was going to get riled up, Will glanced at his brother.

“I thought you were on our side.”

Walking out of the exam room, Kara’s nostrils flared. “I tried. It…it fought harder this time, faster. Like it learned a thing or two from the last go.”

“It’s like it knew you would choose to save people,” Will commented. “The tornado was just a diversion to get away. He used your humanity against you.”

“And now more innocent humans could be in danger.” Lane blamed her. “If anything else happens, you and the entire Intelligence Unit will all be held accountable.”

“Are you kidding? That thing was brought to them by you.” Will fired back, annoyed that his siblings were under fire.

“Thank you, Doctor; I would implore you not to step into government business that you know nothing about,” Lane replied, his eyes casting a glance at the redhead.

“First of all, your death robot nearly killed his brother,” Voight stepped in before Kara could. “so, he has a right to comment. Second, we need to get some sleep. Today has been stressful. We can meet back at the bunker tomorrow and see what Kara has found in her search.” Then he looked at Will. “Feel free to join us, Doc.”

Turning to face the mayor, Kara glared as he stormed out, his team behind him.

“What’s your plan?” Voight asked, facing her.

She shook her head. “I’m going to try and do a flyover; see what I can find.”

“Good luck.” The man told her and led Jay out of the building.

Will sighed. “Why does it feel like you know something they don’t?”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Because I just got the results back from my test on the limb it left behind. And I know why they built the damn thing.”

* * *

Back at the district, Kara was standing with her tablet when Voight and Jay walked in. Hurrying over, Kara looked at her brother.

“Are you okay?” They both knew they were acting the part, but they also knew it was necessary as no one else knew her secret.

“Yeah, that robot packs a punch, though.” He told everyone. “No wonder Supergirl fought so hard.”

“Speaking of which,” Kara fiddled with her glasses. “I found something interesting in my analysis of the thing’s arm.”

“Well, what is it?” Antonio asked, seeing the look on her face. “You don’t seem pleased.”

“Is it something we can’t identify?” Kim asked, walking over to look at her screen. “Oh, shit.”

“Uh-huh.” Kara nodded at her. “The computer broke down the materials in the dermal covering during my initial scan. It’s made of a biosynthetic polymer which contains traces of lead.”

“Wait, what does that mean?” Ruzek asked.

“It suppresses x-ray vision.” Hailey realized, leaning against her desk.

Voight’s jaw tensed, and he looked directly at Kara. “You’re positive about this?”

She nodded confidently. “I ran it twice. Then I confirmed it with Supergirl.”

“So, what does that mean, Boss?” Kevin asked, looking at the angry faces of Voight, Jay, Hailey, and Kara.

Ignoring the question, Voight stormed through the bullpen. “Kara, call our friend in blue. Tell her to meet me at the mayor’s office.”

Then he turned the corner and was gone.

* * *

Kara landed at the same moment Voight stepped out of his car and waited for him to join her on the steps of City Hall. As he walked up, she crossed her arms over her chest and held a steady gaze.

“Kara Halstead told me to meet you here.” She told him when he was finally in front of her. “I assume you have a plan?”

He nodded. “I do. Did she fill you in on what we found?”

“She did.” Kara’s curiosity got the better of her. “I thought you couldn’t trust me. Why have me here now?”

“Honestly? I’m not buying what the mayor is selling.” He told her. “He has an agenda that I am not on board with, and I know you aren’t either. It was pointed out to me recently that if I trusted you more, we’d be able to get more done. As long as you’re willing, I think I’m ready to start.”

Thinking back to her outburst during the Hellgrammite incident, Kara internally winced. “You’ve got a deal, Sergeant.”

“Good.” He gave a wry chuckle. “Now, let’s go see what our city’s leader has to say for himself.”

Being a police sergeant and Supergirl, they got through security pretty quickly and made their way through the building in search of the mayor’s office. Upon arriving, Voight sent her a look before storming into the room.

Having been caught by surprise, Lane jumped from his desk. “Sergeant Voight. I didn’t know we had a meeting today.”

“We didn’t.” Voight’s gruff voice helped to portray how angry he was at the man.

“Ah, Supergirl, I see you’ve come to screw up yet another operation?” Lane goaded.

“Not me this time, Mr. Mayor.” She smirked, crossing her arms again and standing solidarity beside her sergeant. “Though I do think you have some things to answer for.”

“Excuse me?” He shouted, rounding his desk to come near her. “You do not get to speak to me that way. Need I remind you that you aren’t even technically a citizen! If it were up to me, you would be locked up with the rest of your kind.”

“Well, it’s a good thing it isn’t up to you,” Voight told him.

Glaring at them, Lane sighed. “What can I do for you, Sergeant?”

Walking around him, Voight sat in one of the chairs at his desk, giving off the air of being in control. Following his lead, Kara sat in the one beside him, crossing one leg over the other with a devious glint in her eyes.

Once Lane was sitting across from them again, an angry yet timid expression on his face, Voight told him their reason for being there. “So, my tech genius analyzed the material on the arm Red Tornado left behind after fighting Supergirl the first time. You know what she found?”

“What, Sergeant?” Lane sounded annoyed.

“Traces of lead.” Kara enlightened him, seeing the curious look on his face. “What, were we not supposed to see that?”

“That material is top of the line…a prototype. How the hell did a tech nerd get through it?” He demanded an answer.

“Because she’s good at what she does,” Voight replied, sending a warm feeling through Kara’s chest. “Maybe you should get better employees.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Voight sat forward. “You lied to us, Mayor Lane. The military never contacted you with this project; _you_ contacted _them_. You pitched the idea and funded it, letting them build it for you, am I right?”

“Now, hang on-”

“The traces of lead we found on it...it suppresses x-ray vision.” Voight reminded him. “The android wasn’t meant to fight insurgents. It was designed to kill Kryptonians.”

Kara’s stomach went icy as she now realized what Voight had figured out ahead of everyone else. The mayor wanted her dead, along with her cousin. It made sense when she thought about it, but it didn’t make the hurt lessen at all.

The only thing that helped was knowing that Voight was now on her side.

“You’ve got Fort Rozz aliens locked up in your bunker.” Lane barked out. “Monsters. Abominations. Some of them have wings. Some have horns. And others spit acid. Do you know the difference between them and her?” He smirked. “She’s blonde.”

“She saved countless civilians’ lives yesterday and continues to do so every day.” Voight reminded him while Kara sat hurting next to him. “She saved _your_ life yesterday. You don’t owe her fear and contempt. You owe her a thank you.”

Voight stood suddenly, and Kara followed suit. Without waiting for his response, they walked out and ignored everyone who looked at them or tried to speak. When they finally made it outside, and a bit away from the building, she turned to him.

“Thank you.” She sighed. “You didn’t have to say that. I know you aren’t my biggest fan.”

“You saved my guy twice.” He told her, referring to Jay. “I can’t keep pushing you away. But I do have to ask. Do you have any idea where we go from here? Because I’m stumped.”

Looking around at the people walking past, the blonde nodded slowly. “You know…I think I have a way to find Red Tornado.”


	33. Finding the Anger

“The android isn’t acting alone.”

Standing in front of her friends and teammates, Kara gestured to the whiteboard. After analyzing the last few fights with Red Tornado, she’d come to see a pattern and had a pretty good idea of how to draw him out.

Now she just had to convince them to believe her tale.

“I came and looked at the arm with your techie.” She lied, hoping either Jay or Hailey would step in and help if she stumbled. “It’s a drone with an incredibly advanced GPS system.”

“So, hang on, what are you saying?” Ruzek questioned her.

“You’re looking for Frankenstein’s monster. You should be looking for Dr. Frankenstein.”

“So, Morrow is still controlling it.” Jay realized.

Kara nodded. “He has to be.”

“It’s also why it's targeting Mayor Lane.” Voight continued for her, having already discussed the plan with her before meeting with the team.

“Well, that makes sense,” Antonio added. “Morrow wants revenge on Lane for mothballing his project.”

Kim leaned back in her desk chair. “So, if we take out Dr. Morrow, we take out Red Tornado.”

“Okay, that’s great and all, but how are we supposed to find this Morrow?” Kevin asked them.

“We draw out the android,” Kara told him.

“I called Kara on the way over here,” Voight informed them. “She has her system working on a way to do that and also trace the relay signal he’s using to control it so we can follow it back to him.”

“No wonder she ran out of here so quickly.” Hailey shrugged, sending her a covert glance.

“Supergirl will keep Red Tornado occupied,” Voight told them, moving over Hailey’s comment. “until we can shut it down.”

“So, we back up Supergirl and Kara hacks Morrow’s system?” Ruzek wondered, trying to catch up to the plan.

“Unfortunately, no,” Voight told them. “Someone is going to have to go into the field to shut it down, and we can’t be sure it is safe enough to send her in. One of us will have to do it.”

“I’ll go.” Hailey offered, knowing Jay would want to be with his sister in the field. “Kara can walk me through the steps beforehand, and you guys can back up Supergirl.”

“Our best bet is to put this plan in action tomorrow.” Kara sighed. “Upton can get comfortable with the system, and Sergeant Voight can get in contact with the mayor to fill him in.”

“Everyone, go home and get some sleep,” Voight told them. “Hailey, Kara’s waiting for you downstairs to walk you through it. The rest of you, we’ll meet back here tomorrow and set up everything else.”

As everyone went their separate ways, he turned to Kara. “Think you can keep your cool this time?”

She gave one short, confident nod. “I’m not afraid of my anger anymore. I can use it. Channel it to work for me, not against me.”

“Good,” Voight smirked. “We’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

“I wouldn’t miss it.”

* * *

Standing in Mouch and Trudy’s garage, Kara stared at the setup they’d prepared for her. Though they weren’t her parents, she would forever see them as amazing stand-ins and would be forever grateful for everything they had and continued to do for her every day.

The second he’d heard from Trudy about Kara’s current issues, Mouch had set to work getting everything together for her. She’d have to pay him back later in some way.

“Wow!” Turning, she saw Jay enter the side door to the spacious garage, followed by Will. “How do Mouch and Platt end up with a massive garage in this city?”

“I thought Rock Balboa practicing on dead cows was cool,” Will commented, looking past the punching bag to the cut-in-half car Mouch had picked up from the junkyard and hung from the ceiling.

Kara shrugged as Jay set his stuff down and put protective gear on his hands. “Well, I can’t exactly join a kickboxing class.”

Chuckling, Will walked over to her. “You know, I never heard of Superman having to work out his rage off the battlefield.”

“First of all, that’s because you didn’t know who he was outside the cape before I came out.” She reminded him. “Second of all, that is because he’s a man.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Jay asked, bouncing on his toes slightly to warm himself up.

“Girls are taught to smile and keep their anger on the inside.” She told them. “Go ask any other woman you know, and they’ll tell you the same thing.”

“I mean, it’s not like cops or doctors are encouraged to be angry in public.” Jay countered.

“Well, then this will work for all of us.” She smiled, gesturing to the setup and taking off her glasses. “Okay, so…say what you’re mad about and then let the fists fly.”

“Sounds good to me,” Jay told her, beating his fists together. “Let’s do this.”

Kara looked at Will. “Not joining us?”

He shook his head. “Uh, no. I’m just here for the free beer and to make sure this idiot doesn’t hurt himself.”

“Hey!” Jay protested.

Will just shrugged. “Hey, Kara can’t get hurt, so it’s just you I have to worry about. Now get going. I hear you both have a big day tomorrow.”

Taking his stance in front of the bag, Jay held his fists up. “I can’t stand Mayor Lane.”

“Ugh, I can’t stand him, either.” Kara scoffed and threw a bare-knuckled punch into the hood of the car.

“I hate how he acts like he’s the President or something.” Jay sent his fists flying again.

“I can’t stand the way he talks down to me like I’m the enemy.” Kara punched harder.

Jay threw a few more punches as he spoke. “And I really cannot stand how he talks about you and your cousin!”

Now that she was riled up, Kara’s fists flew and didn’t stop. “I hate how my emotions get the best of me. And I hate how the last thing time I interacted with Dad, I was yelling at him.”

Settling his punching bag, Jay paused. He glanced at Will before they both focused back on their sister, who had tears running down her cheeks as she rammed her fists into the broken vehicle.

They didn’t think she even knew they were there.

“I hate that I have to keep this secret from my friends. I absolutely cannot stand that I had to keep it from you for my entire life. I’m angry that I will never find what Will and Natalie have.” She continued, oblivious to her brothers’ concern. “And I hate that I am never going to get to have a normal life!”

Throwing her fist back, she slammed it into the dent she’d made, sending the engine and other vital parts flying out through the backside of the car.

This time Will didn’t wait for her to continue and stood. “Kara…”

Stumbling back, her breath came out in pants. “Oh, my God. Trudy was right.”

“Right about what?” Jay asked quietly.

“There is anger behind the anger.”

Confused, Will moved toward her. “Are you okay? Are there like, extra emotions that we don’t know about on Krypton?”

Shaking her head, Kara went and plopped onto the couch that Will had vacated. “No, no, I thought…I thought I was mad seeing…”

When she trailed off, Jay furrowed his brow. “Seeing what?”

She sighed. “Seeing you guys living your lives…dating, being engaged, not having to hide your real selves…it makes me realize that I am never going to have what you two have. Someone who knows everything about me. My perfect partner at a game night or during a night at Molly’s.”

Watching as she wiped her tears away, Will frowned. “Kara, you’ll find someone…”

“Growing up on Earth, I never felt normal.” She revealed, sending them into shock. “And though I promised Mom and Dad I wouldn’t, I always thought that if I started to use my powers, my life would make sense.

“But I’m realizing that…being myself doesn’t make me feel more normal. And it never will. Because my normal life ended the second my parents put me on that ship. And that makes me…so… _mad_. I hate that I will never have what you have…that I will have to sit by and watch you find the people you can share your every secret with while I am alone.”

“Kara, you are not alone,” Jay told her. “You have to know that.”

“You don’t understand, Jay. You _can’t_ understand.” She said earnestly. “You guys are human. You don’t have to worry about someone finding out your true bloodline. You won’t have nightmares every night of your whole family—your whole world—blowing up in front of your eyes at such a young age.”

“You’re right.”

Looking up in surprise, both Jay and Kara stared at Will. “What?”

He nodded. “You’re right. We don’t have to worry about that, and I think we forget it because it’s easier to push it away. To us, you will always be our little sister. But I know that, at least for me, I never thought about how different your life has and will be from ours. And I’m sorry for that.”

Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to smile. “Thank you.”

Throwing an arm around her shoulders, Jay squeezed lightly. “I promise that one day, you will find someone you can share everything with. It might not be right away, but I promise it will happen for you.”

“How can you be so sure?” She wondered, slipping her glasses back on.

“Because, as pessimistic as I can be, I can’t believe the universe would see you doing so much good and then deny you happiness. I just don’t believe it.” He said with a confidence that Kara couldn’t argue. “Now come on, Mouch told us there would be food and beer when we were done out here. Let’s go see what they’re cooking.”

Smiling genuinely now, she wrapped her arm around his waist, and they followed their brother out of the building.


	34. Ending the Fight

The following morning, Voight was standing in the bullpen, a smug look on his features as he watched the mayor and his team climb the stairs. He waited, in no hurry to follow the orders he knew would be coming his way.

This time, Intelligence was in charge. And from now on, that included Supergirl.

“Well, I’m here.” The man told Voight. “What was so important you had to pull me down here?”

“I think we may have a solution that will rectify your screw up.” The gruff man stated. “But we’ll need your help…”

* * *

Across town, Hailey stepped out of her car and looked at the GPS on her phone to make sure she could contact her team and find her target. “Signal’s in. I have a position on Morrow.”

As she entered the building where he was hiding, Lane stood in an alleyway cleared of all residents a few miles away. He waited as he saw the Red Tornado land before flying at him. But as it threw a punch, the robot flew right through him.

Realizing something was wrong, he landed and tried to punch again, resulting in the same outcome. Walking around to face the mayor, Red Tornado gave him a once-over and stuck its arm through the hologram again.

Back in the bunker, Lane saluted toward the machine Kara had set up for them that projected his hologram to the alleyway before she’d gone to ‘run the technology from the van.’ “How did you manage to project a thermally accurate 3D hologram of me over seventy miles away?”

Voight stared him down. “Technology from those Kryptonians you’re so scared of.”

He made a face at the sergeant before their attention was pulled to the screen monitoring the fight. A bullet ricocheted off the AI, causing him to turn and see Kara standing behind a rifle timed to send ammunition it's way.

Standing to look at her, Kara stepped to the side and went to face it. Knowing her team was watching from a safe distance away, she readied herself for the fight. “I think I got its attention.”

Then she flew straight at it while it copied her actions.

* * *

Hailey walked through the messy warehouse, her gun drawn in case of any attack. She knew that Kara was handling the actual robot, but she was apprehensive of what the doctor would have prepared for her.

Moving around a few shelves, she went to take a step forward when a voice spoke behind her. “That won’t do anything.”

Spinning to face Morrow, Hailey held her gun in front of her, unafraid of any consequences that would come with her actions. “You need to stand down.”

Ignoring her, Morrow gestured to the device he wore on his head. “Telepathic relay interface to control his cerebral matrix. If you want to stop him, you’ll have to cease any neural function from his creator. You’ll have to kill me.”

Not relaxing her stance, the blonde detective tried to reason with him. “You don’t have to throw your life away…”

He scoffed. “The Red Tornado is my life.”

Taking her by surprise, he grabbed a baton and swung at her, knocking the gun from her hand. As she fought him in hand to hand combat, Hailey knew they were smart not to send Kara in, as it would have been hard for her to fight him and keep her secret from everyone else.

As she fought the doctor, Kara copied her motions on the battlefield. Though she wasn’t aware of it yet, the combat that Morrow was using to fight Hailey was causing the Red Tornado to mimic him against the alien.

Trying to get the upper hand, Kara ducked as it threw a punch at her. Flying a few feet in the air, she stuck her foot out and flew back down, kicking it in the face and sending it sprawling along the concrete. As she flew at it, and it stuck its hands out to send tornado-like winds in her direction.

They continued to throw punches at each other before it was able to stand and launch her into an old dumpster. Approaching its prey, it lifted Kara by the throat, slamming her into the ground again.

Back in the warehouse, Hailey was trapped in Morrow’s hold as they fought over the gun. Knowing that Kara was most likely in a similar state as she was in that moment, she sent her elbow into his face and spun, pulling the trigger without a second thought.

Staring at the man as his body slumped, she heard Kara’s voice in her comms. _“You did it.”_ Then a moment later, she spoke again. _“It’s still going.”_

Hearing Kara’s panicked voice and seeing the fight in front of him, Jay hurried to check in with his partner. “Hailey.”

He waited for a second before she responded. _“No commands are being transmitted to the android. Supergirl, it’s become sentient.”_

Groaning, Kara readied herself as the AI sent her flying along the ground again. Then she stood and stared at it across the alleyway. She knew she had to take it down here, or it would continue to wreak havoc on the city.

Watching from their position on a rooftop, Jay waited as Kara panted heavily. Then he held his breath as she planted her feet firmly into the ground and let her heat vision tear from her eyes directly into the center of the robot’s chest.

The bot faltered only slightly as it was hit, but as the team watched its movements with hopeful expressions, Jay’s eyes never left his sister. As she continued to blast him with her vision, she forced extra energy into her attack that left her screaming out at the effort and smoke rising from her eyes. He’d never seen her so upset, and it took everything in him to stay in his spot and not run to her and protect her from everyone and everything that had ever caused her pain.

On the ground, though her actions made it seem like her mind was in the fight, memories flew through her brain at a speed that rivaled her superspeed.

Hugging her mother goodbye on the launch pad as her home exploded around them.

Her parents' faces as they hugged each other in comfort, watching her pod take off, leaving them behind.

The image of Krypton’s final destruction. Pieces flying in every direction as she sped away from it.

Using those memories as a catalyst for her attack, she pushed herself harder than she ever had before, and only a moment later, the AI broke apart into small pieces that flew off in different directions around her. The force caused dumpsters and grass to catch fire, and everything shook as her powers dissipated from the area.

Dropping to the ground as she let up her attack, she heaved her breath in and out, allowing herself to recover from the intensity of her power.

_“Supergirl, are you okay?”_

Sitting up on her knees, Kara looked horrified as she took in her surroundings and saw what her powers and anger caused. Nodding rapidly for the rest of her team to see, she tried to get her heart to stop beating as fast as it was.

“I’m here.” She croaked out. “I’m…I’m okay. It’s over.”

Looking up to where the team was leaving their safe zone, she raised her hand and waved, letting a lingering Jay know that she was okay. Only then did he pack up his gear and follow everyone else off the roof.


	35. RT Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys get two chapters today because I'm feeling generous and productive.

Kara sat at her computer as the team rolled back into the bunker. Watching them file in, she waited for Jay to enter the room and catch her gaze. Nodding back to him, she knew she couldn’t hide her true feelings from him, but she wanted him to be able to get through their debriefing before his worry for her took over.

They spoke with Mayor Lane for a little while before he left and then spoke together as a team for a bit longer. When they had finally finished going over the night’s insane events, Voight looked around at them and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

“I want to make something very clear to you all. It hasn’t been a secret that some of us, myself included, have had issues with this whole alien-fighting business and having an actual alien on the team. That changes now.

“This team has always been about taking down the bad guys in this city and bringing justice to those who try to tear it down. That now includes beings from a different planet. We need to find a way to live with that and recognize that our jobs just got a lot harder.

“Now we’ve all heard some things said over the last few days from the mayor and his team. All of that—the lies, the rumors, the hate—leaves with them. Our unit is now working with Supergirl, and we need to get used to that. We can all have our own opinions and our views on how to do things, but one thing we cannot afford to argue about is having her on our team. I won’t have it. From now on, she is one of us. If anyone has an issue with that, feel free to put in for a transfer.”

Looking around, he saw everyone nodding in agreement.

Then Antonio spoke. “After today, she’s got my vote.”

“Okay,” Voight said, satisfied with their responses. “we’ve had a long day. Let’s go home and get some rest.”

Jay hung around until everyone had filed out, and when the last person was gone, he was moving toward his sister. Pulling her tightly to his chest, he felt her arms go around him and hold on just as tightly.

“I know it’s a stupid question,” he sighed. “but are you okay?”

He felt a shudder run through her body. “No.”

“Hey,” he pulled back and looked at her red-rimmed eyes, knowing how upset she was. “why don’t you come stay at my place tonight? We can call Will and Winn, order some Chinese food, and watch the game.”

She gave him a small smile and nodded. “Maybe just you and Will? I love Winn, but I think I just need a night with my brothers.”

“Fine with me.” He told her and led her out of the bunker. “More food for us.”

* * *

“Wait, so the robot developed a mind of its own?”

Nodding at her brother, Kara picked up her container of sweet and sour chicken and curled into the corner of Jay’s couch. “Yep. Even after Hailey shot the doctor, it kept going. I think the technology was so experimental, they didn’t even know what they were dealing with yet.”

“Wow.” Will set his beer down and shook his head. “How the hell did you even go about defeating it?”

Jay chuckled. “Oh, she didn’t defeat it. She destroyed it; blew it into a billion tiny pieces.”

“Wait, seriously?” Looking back and forth between his siblings, the redhead made sure they weren’t trying to trick him. “How did you manage that?”

“Heat vision.” She shrugged, not wanting to think of the memories that plagued her at the time.

“It was scary,” Jay told them and dodged a piece of chicken she threw at him. “Hey, I’m just being honest. There was smoke coming from your eyes.”

She blinked. “There was?”

He nodded slowly. “Yeah. Have you ever pushed it that far before?”

“I’ve only been at this for like two months, Jay.” She reminded him. “And most of the times I’ve used it, you’ve been there.”

“I’m just saying,” he sighed. “I wouldn’t want to be on the other end of that fight.”

Now she smiled. “Well, the good thing is, you’ll never have to. I can’t imagine ever being so mad at you that I’d use my powers against you. At least not to a fighting extent.”

“Thank God. We wouldn’t last two seconds against you.” Will agreed. “And that’s without your powers.”

“You’re damn right.” She laughed.

She leaned forward to set her food on the table again when she accidentally knocked her bottle onto the hardwood floor. Wincing, she hurried to the floor.

“Shit. Sorry.”

Jumping up to grab a wad of paper towels, Jay shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. It’s not the first time.”

As she reached up for the towels, she slid her hand against a large piece of glass and gasped. “Ow!”

“What happened?” Will asked, taking his eyes off the game playing on the television to focus on his siblings.

Rising from the floor, the boys watched as she held up her hand, a small flow of red rolling down her finger. “I’m…bleeding.”

No one moved as they took in what this meant. If Kara could bleed, it meant her powers weren’t working. That also meant she wasn’t bulletproof, couldn’t fly, and was just as human as everyone else.

Coming back to reality faster than his younger siblings, Will moved forward and pressed one of the towels to her finger. “Hold this on there for a second. Jay, do you have a first aid kit?”

Nodding, the detective hurried to grab the box and was back in record time. He watched as Will pulled the towel off her finger and examined it, a practiced look of calm on his face.

“It’s just a cut.” He told them. “Just needs a bandage, which means no stitches, thankfully. It should heal in a few days.”

Kara didn’t speak. Since the sight of blood, she’d gone quiet.

Lowering himself to crouch beside her, Jay eyed her carefully. “K?”

“I’m bleeding.” She said again. “I’ve never bled before…at least not on this planet.”

Seeing the panic rise into her eyes, he was quick to reassure her. “Hey, don’t worry about it. I’m sure your powers just need to recharge after today.”

“Jay’s right,” Will jumped in. “You just started using your powers, and suddenly you’re pushing them harder than ever. I bet you’ll be kicking our asses again tomorrow.”

Swallowing the lump that had risen in her throat, she nodded. “You’re right.”

She didn’t believe the words she said. She could only hope they were.

* * *

As the game came to an end, the boys picked up their garbage and carried it into the kitchen. Kara had fallen asleep about thirty minutes before that, and they’d draped a blanket over her, opting to move her into the spare bedroom later.

Neither wanted to admit they were worried about her.

“She’s not okay, is she?”

Turning, Will looked at his brother. “I don’t think so. Jay, she’s never been hurt before. She’s never even had a cold. What happens if her powers don’t come back?”

The other man shrugged, looking through the doorway to watch his sister sleep. “I don’t know, man. You should have seen her today. I’ve never seen anything like it. All her anger, all the things that have ever hurt her, they all came out in that fight. You could hear her screaming from our rooftop.”

“I know it hasn’t been that long, but I just got used to not having to worry about her getting hurt or worse,” Will admitted. “I’m not ready to go back to that feeling.”

Jay nodded. “Me neither. I’m also worried about how she’d take it. She already looks at herself as being in her cousin’s shadow. This will kill her.”

“So, we wait,” Will decided. “and hope that they come back. For her sake, and ours.”

“And the city’s,” Jay pointed out. “Now that she’s shown herself to the world if she suddenly goes away, these aliens we’re dealing with won’t hesitate to come at us full force. Especially her aunt.”

“So, let’s keep our fingers crossed, then.” Will sighed. “You want help getting her to bed?”

“Nah,” he shook his head. “she may eat enough to make a giant starve, but she barely weighs anything. I’ll get her.”

They finished cleaning up, and only when Will was finally on his way home did Jay approach his sister again. He watched her sleep and noticed how her face pinched together as though she didn’t like whatever image she was seeing in her head.

Glancing at the door to his spare bedroom, he leaned over and lifted her into his arms. She curled herself into his chest, full of trust even in her sleep. As a well of protectiveness filled his body, he sighed and turned, heading in the direction of his bedroom.

Laying her on one side of the mattress, he tucked her in and watched her unconsciously move until she was comfortable. He went about completing his nightly routine and then climbed under the covers on his own side of the bed.

As he turned out the light, he flipped around until he was settled and finally closed his eyes. Just as he was starting to drift off, he felt a hand reach out and grab his. Looking down at his sister, he saw that she was still asleep, but now her face was calm and relaxed.

If nothing else, it helped to give him enough peace to sleep without worry.


	36. The Quake

_“The loss of your powers is undeniably traumatic. You may feel confused, or even frightened they’re lost forever.”_

Sitting cross-legged on the floor of the bunker, Kara let a tear slip from her eye as she looked up at the image of her mother. It had been a few days since she’d bled at Jay’s house, and since then, her powers had still not returned. Though her loved ones had tried to take her mind off of it, she had never felt more helpless in her life.

_“Your battle with the android drained your Kryptonian cells of their solar energy. You are now as vulnerable to your environment as any human, subject to pain, sickness, death. But have faith, Kara. Once your cells have reabsorbed sufficient radiation from Earth’s yellow star, your powers should return._

_“Do not be afraid. Lean on those you trust. It is my deep regret that I am unable to be there with you myself, my beloved daughter. As always, my collected knowledge is at your disposal for further analysis.”_

“Thank you,” Kara said and sighed when the image of her mother disappeared. “Mom.”

“She’s right, you know.”

Turning, Kara looked at her brother, sadly. “Hi.”

“How long have you been here?” Kara didn’t need superpowers to see the concern hidden behind his façade of normalcy.

She shrugged. “I couldn’t sleep.”

Sighing at her brush-off, Jay walked forward and grabbed her hand, helping her up from the floor. “Come on; you’ll be fine. You know that. This happens to Superman too, where he loses his powers for a couple days, right?”

“Yeah, but it’s been two days, and I don’t feel any different.” She told him as they left the room and made their way to the main precinct in order to be on time for work.

“You’re just going crazy because none of us have left you alone all weekend.” He told her, and she knew he didn’t feel bad about it.

“It’s okay,” she shook her head. “I know you’re all just worried.”

“Yeah, well, now you get to be out here in the real world and see what it’s like to be human.” He teased as they walked up the stairs to their bullpen. “You might learn a thing or two about what it’s like for the rest of us.”

“Great, just what I need.” She joked back, but her tone lacked the humor she wanted.

As she reached her desk, she froze and looked up at Jay. Something felt weird in her body, and she didn’t know what it was, but her head instantly went fuzzy.

“What’s wrong?” He asked quickly, grabbing her elbow to steady her in case she fell.

Blinking twice, her face contorted, and she lifted her sleeve to her face to cover her nose.

This time it was Jay who blinked at her. “What the hell kind of noise was that?”

“I sneezed.” Kara realized as she’d never experienced it before.

He scoffed. “That was _not_ a sneeze. That was someone’s house exploding.”

Smacking him lightly, Kara rolled her eyes. “Shut up. I’ve been around lots of people this weekend, and my immune system never had to deal with this before.”

“You sick, Little Halstead?” Ruzek asked, looking at them from his desk.

Even as she glared at him, she could feel her eyes water for another sneeze. “Stop calling me that.”

Then she sneezed again, and Jay grabbed a box of Kleenex. She slumped into her chair with a pout on her face that made her brother laugh.

“You look like Owen when he doesn’t get a treat when he wants one.” He chuckled, referencing their soon-to-be nephew.

“I don’t like being sick!” She told him as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Yeah, well, deal with it.” He shrugged as Voight walked out of the breakroom.

“Someone sick?”

Antonio gestured in her direction. “Kara’s got a cold.”

Frowning at her, the older man sipped his coffee. “Why don’t you go home? It’s a slow day…we’ll survive without you.”

“But…” she paused. “are you sure?”

“Do it,” Jay told his sister. “You’ll feel better if you rest and spend some time not fielding questions from a bunch of people.”

She knew he was not only referencing the unit but everyone who had shown up to check on her over the weekend. “Okay.”

Nudging her shoulder, he lowered his voice. “Call if you need anything, okay?”

She nodded as she grabbed her stuff. “Thanks.”

* * *

Kara sighed as she waited in line at the coffee shop. She’d never taken a day off since she landed on Earth, and though she craved alone time, she didn’t know what to do with it. Finally moving up to place her order, she told the barista what she wanted, and with a quick glance at the door, waved the person over.

“I’ll grab his order, too.”

“Thanks.” The man gave his order, moving to follow Kara to the end of the counter to wait on their drinks. “Much better than the stuff at Med. I’m guessing it’s the same for the district, seeing as you’re getting your coffee here instead of there.”

“You have no idea.” She told him, nodding at the scrubs he wore. “Just getting off shift?”

“Yeah,” Connor admitted. “What are you doing here? Intelligence not working today?”

Instead of responding, Kara sneezed again. “Ugh. I hate colds.”

He nodded in understanding. “Ah, I see. I’m guessing Voight sent you home. What got you sick? I don’t think I’ve ever seen or heard about you getting so much as a hangnail.”

“You’re hilarious.” As they grabbed their drinks, Kara rolled her eyes. “I had a constant stream of visitors in my apartment this weekend.”

“Rough weekend?” He wondered as they walked down the street.

“You could say that.” She fiddled with her glasses. “It was the anniversary of my family’s death and my adoption. It just hit a little harder this year, I guess.”

“Wait, you’re adopted?” He smiled. “I didn’t know that.”

She shrugged. “Not many people do; we don’t advertise it because sometimes it’s easy to forget.”

“Yeah, well, you landed a good one.” He told her. “A family, I mean. Will and Jay are good guys.”

“The best brothers ever.” She told him. “But also, annoying if you’re having a crappy time and they’re concerned.”

“Well, just lay low and get better, and they’ll go back to normal.” He assured her as they waited at a crosswalk.

“Yeah. You’re right.” She gave in, listening to the advice that everyone was giving her. “Intelligence can survive without me for one day.”

Just as she spoke the words, the ground started to shake, and both individuals lost their footing, hitting the sidewalk. Around them, tires screeched on the cars that spun out of their lanes, and one edge of a bridge crumbled like dough.

As she stood, Kara looked around at people running, screaming, and trying to regain their footing as the quake came to a stop. Knowing she didn’t have her powers and couldn’t fly off and help anyone was pushing guilt back into her head and heart, and she felt her hands curl into fists.

Looking around to check on Connor, her eyesight caught a break in the ground, quickly making its way across the pavement. Her jaw dropped, feeling the shock of knowing that something like this didn’t happen in Chicago normally, and wondering if this could have been alien-related.

However, she didn’t have much time to ponder the thought as she heard another screech of tires. Turning, she watched in frozen terror as an SUV came barreling toward her and wondered if this were the way she would die.

She was a freaking alien who saved the world on a daily basis, could deflect bullets and fly and shoot lasers from her eyes, and she would die by being hit by a car. She couldn’t believe this was how things had turned out.

Then, out of nowhere, something hard slammed into her side, and she hit the ground again with a loud crunch.


	37. The Manstead Homestead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was originally going to have it be Will that was with her during the quake, but changed my mind so I could add some of the other characters in. Besides, in order to utilize future episodes, I am going to need some of our friendly faces to get on board with the Halstead family secret. I figured I'd start here.
> 
> Also, I'm pretty sure this is the only time Connor's ever been speechless, which was fun for me.

Connor's ears were ringing, and it took him a second to realize what was happening. He remembered talking to Kara before the ground started to shake, and they’d both fallen over. Looking around in a panic, he saw her standing and staring at everyone running past them.

Then he saw the SUV heading right for her, and he scrambled up, tackling her to the ground as the vehicle hit the fire hydrant behind them.

Water sprayed out around them, and he moved to help her up. “You okay?”

Her face was pinched in pain. “No, no.”

“Might be broken.” He told her before the realization of reality hit him. “Oh, God.”

Tearing his jacket off, he gently grabbed her arm and tied the fabric around her in a make-shift sling. Helping her up, he looked at the arm she held against her body and frowned. “We should get you to Med.”

Even in her pain, she knew that couldn’t happen. “No. I’m okay.”

“Kara, you’re seriously injured.” He told her, worried she’d hit her head.

“Gee, I hadn’t noticed.” She rolled her eyes. “Listen, Will and Natalie live not far from here. We can go there.”

“Kara-”

“Connor, I can’t go to the hospital, okay?” She snapped, moving in the direction they would need to go in to get to her brother’s house.

Hurrying after her, Connor shook his head. “Listen, as both a doctor and your friend, I don’t feel comfortable with this.”

Groaning in frustration, she spun and pinned him against a building. “I have neither the time nor the crayons to explain this to you.”

“Why are all of you Halsteads so stubborn?” He asked her.

“Connor, do I have to physically have the ‘S’ on my chest to get you to listen and trust me?” She asked him in a hushed voice, looking around to make sure no one could hear them.

He stared at her for a moment before opening his mouth and then closing it again. He did it two more times before Kara rolled her eyes again and walked away.

Connor followed behind her, still struggling to find something to say.

* * *

“Anybody home?”

Walking into Will’s house, Kara and Connor could hear Owen crying upstairs and knew that the poor kid was frightened about the experience.

“Kara?” Will’s voice echoed down the stairs just before he appeared, and his body showed confusion at seeing Connor. “Connor?”

“Your sister’s a pain in the ass, Halstead.” The other doctor told him in lieu of a greeting and walked to the kitchen.

Looking at his sister, he noticed the sling and hurried forward. “What the hell happened?”

“Connor tackled me.” She shrugged, wincing at the pain in her arm.

Walking her into the kitchen so they could look at her arm, the redhead shook his head. “That doesn’t explain anything to me.”

Sitting at one of the barstools at the counter, the blonde sighed. “He saved my life and then argued with me the entire way here.”

“Thanks, man,” Will told him, ignoring the last part of her sentence as he moved the limb around.

“Ow! Watch it, will you?” She shouted at him.

“Well, it’s definitely broken.” He told her calmly.

“Will?”

Turning, the three people in the kitchen watched as Natalie walked into the room.

Kara winced. “Sorry, Nat.”

“Kara! What happened? Was this because of the quake?” She asked, rushing forward to help.

Connor nodded. “We had to dodge a car and hit the ground. She took most of the fall.”

“Connor, why didn’t you take her to Med?” The woman asked, grabbing a glass of water for her almost-sister.

Will sighed. “Our place was probably closer-”

“Because my alien DNA wouldn’t look too good on a lab report in my file.”

The room went silent as each person had a different look on their face. Connor look exasperated, Natalie was confused, and Will was sending her a questioning glance.

“Hang on, what?” Natalie looked at her carefully. “Connor, did she hit her head?”

“Nat,” Kara faced her. “I’m being serious. You know Supergirl?”

“You sure about this?” Will asked his sister, handing Connor’s jacket back to him as he wrapped one of his own shirts around her as a sling.

“She’s family, Will.” The blonde said quietly. “And it was the only way to shut this one up on the way here.”

“Kara, you…” Nat was shocked. “You’re her?”

She nodded. “Yeah…I’m sorry we didn’t tell you until now.”

Wrapping her arms around the injured woman gently, Natalie shook her head. “I’m so sorry.”

“Why?” Now Kara was confused.

Natalie pulled back and looked sad. “Because I know how much you’ve lost and how hard it must have been to keep this from people.”

“Thanks, Nat.” Kara smiled. “You two are just the latest to find out. I’m sure everyone in our group will know soon enough at this rate.”

“Okay, can I ask my question now?” Connor asked, moving forward. “I thought you were bulletproof.”

“That’s not a question.” Kara quipped. “I lost my powers fighting Red Tornado.”

“Shit.” He let the word slip from his lips accidentally. “So, you lose your powers, and two days later, you’re both sick and injured.”

“You’re sick?” Will looked back at her in concern.

“Yeah, I’m just going to stick an ‘out of order’ sticker on my forehead and call it a day.” She nodded and winced as she jostled her arm before glaring at her brother. “You know, you could have told me how much this hurts.”

He shrugged. “Yeah, well, I didn’t know you’d ever need to know.”

“I hate you.” She told him. “Now, can someone give me a ride back to the district? I have a feeling they’re going to need me.”

“Do you guys have any prisoners there right now?” Will wondered, worried that a breach may have happened.

She shook her head, causing them to feel relieved. “No, thank Rao. But I have a feeling they’re going to get pulled in to help, and this would be the perfect opportunity for my aunt to strike.”

“Your aunt?” Natalie looked at her fiancé. “I didn’t know you had an aunt.”

“My biological aunt.” Kara sighed. “Long story short, she was put in prison by my mother, and the prison survived when Krypton died, and apparently, I accidentally brought it here with me. Now she’s pissed and wants to take over the world. It was a great family reunion.”

“What happens if your powers don’t come back?”

“Connor!” Will scolded his friend.

“It’s okay, Will.” Kara looked down. “They will. They have to, or I don’t know what I’m going to do. And once they do come back, this arm will heal, and I’ll be back to normal.”

“Kara…”

“Will. You’ve talked your breath away this weekend. I don’t want to hear it again.” She told him. “I talked to Kal last night. He said his solar flares started this way, too.”

“Solar flares?”

Kara nodded at Natalie. “Yeah, he likes to name all our powers. ‘Solar flares,’ ‘heat vision,’ you get the point.”

“What a nerd.” She laughed, and Kara joined her.

“Thank you! That’s what I’ve been saying!”

Rolling his eyes, Will grabbed his keys. “Just for that, I’m telling him you said that. Now come on, I’ll give you guys a lift wherever you need to go. My shift starts soon enough, anyway.”

Waving at Natalie with her good hand, Kara followed her brother and Connor out of the house, groaning as they started complaining about her. She loved having more people know her secret, but now Will could complain about her even more, and as a sister, she couldn’t stand it.


	38. Who We Choose to Be

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys! This story just became my number one story of everything I've posted on this website! I'm so excited! Thank you guys for all the love and for supporting this work and me as an author. This is one of my favorite stories to write and the love just fuels that passion.

Holding her broken arm against her body, Kara took in the pandemonium that was the precinct. There were citizens, both injured and not, piling into the lobby, searching for a safe space to rest or get help. Every officer had been called in, it seemed, and was in use as they tried to quell any worries that people might have.

Walking up the front steps, the blonde carefully pushed her way through the crowd as she made her way towards the gate leading to Intelligence. She was halfway there when someone shoved past her, sending her and her injured arm into the front desk.

“Dammit!” She hissed, cradling her arm closer.

“Hey! Watch it over there. I’m serious.”

Kara sighed as Platt looked her over. “Thanks. This is insane.”

“What the hell happened to you?” Platt asked quickly while trying to solve any issue she came across simultaneously.

“I got tackled out of the way of a car.” She responded as simply as possible.

“You have to be careful.” Her mentor scolded. “You headed upstairs?”

“Unless you need me down here?” Kara partially joked.

“Get up there. I’m sure they need you.”

Nodding to the woman, Kara sucked in a breath and pushed her way back into the crowd. She managed to reach the stairs without another incident and went to punch in her code when the gate buzzed and opened for her.

Turning to look at Platt, the grey-haired woman had already moved on to something else but held up her hand to show she’d helped her out. Smiling for a second, Kara finally moved up the stairs and heard everyone talking before seeing them.

“There are a string of calls coming in about robberies, fire, massive crowds, et cetera,” Voight told the team. “We need to get out there and help. It sounds like a nightmare out there.”

“I can confirm that.” She told him, and the whole unit turned to face her. “The lobby alone is a disaster.”

“What the fuck happened to you?” Jay hurried over to meet her at her desk and ghosted his fingers over her arm.

“It broke when Connor tackled me.” She rolled her eyes. “Saved my life but broke my arm.”

“Why aren’t you at Med?” Voight questioned her.

She had to fight against her natural urge to shrug. “Connor, Nat, and Will looked at it and said I would live. They dropped me off, and I promised I’d get it looked at later.”

“Kara…” Jay looked conflicted.

“Oh, don’t you start, too.” She warned him. “I had to tell them my deepest secrets for them to let me go.”

Understanding and realization jumped into his eyes, and he nodded. “Okay. But if it gets worse, you’re going, and we’ll figure it out.”

“Thank you.” She sat gently in her desk chair and turned her computer back on. “Now, get out there. I’ll monitor both civilian and alien issues that come in and let you guys know where to go.”

The unit knew not to mess with her, so everyone filed out except for Jay, Hailey, and Voight. She ignored their presence until Voight tapped his knuckles on the table.

“Are you sure you’re okay to stay and do this?” He asked her, concern coloring his usually tense face.

“I’m good.” She didn’t have to force the steel into her eyes. “Besides, a broken arm is nothing compared to what’s happening out there.”

“If you need to go, you go. Do you understand me?” He made sure they were looking directly into each other’s eyes to make the promise. “I’m not messing with anybody’s health in this.”

She nodded. “I promise you; I won’t need to.”

Accepting her answer, he stormed out of the room. Facing her brother and his partner, the alien sighed. “I promise you, I’m fine. As soon as my powers come back, it will heal. You need to go out there and help, Jay. This city is going crazy right now.”

“Call me if you need me.” He said adamantly. “I’m serious. Don’t try and play hero right now.”

“I won’t. Now, go!”

Taking a deep breath as they left, she only had to wait a second before her phone was ringing off the hook, and she dove in to handle each call.

* * *

“Yes, I will direct some officers to your location as quickly as possible,” Kara told the crying woman on the phone. “Make sure you keep him warm, calm, and awake.”

She finished answering the call and turned when she saw someone came running up the stairs. “Trudy?”

“Please tell me someone is up here.” She begged quickly.

“No, they’re all out. Why? I can send them somewhere; just tell me.” Kara understood her panic.

She’d spent the last two hours answering phone calls and trying to calm people against everything from ‘what if’ questions to severe injuries. As Supergirl, she did this all the time, but she wasn’t used to doing it while powerless.

Platt sighed. “The bodega a block over is being robbed, with hostages, and I have no one to go there.”

“I’ll let them know right now.”

“Thanks.”

Kara tapped her headset. “Guys, is anyone available to get over to that bodega around the corner from here? They’re being robbed, and there are multiple hostages.”

_“Negative, we’re all on calls still.”_

She winced and looked at Platt in sympathy. “According to Voight, everyone is held up on calls still.”

“Dammit.” Platt cursed.

Kara watched as the woman tried to figure out what to do. Watching her struggle was painful for the young woman, so much so that she tore the headset off and stood. “Screw this.”

“Kara?”

Ignoring her, Kara took off the sling before tearing off her clothes and tucking them in her desk drawer. Then she stormed out of the room.

“Kara, don’t you dare!” Platt hurried after her. “You don’t have your powers.”

“Yes, thank you for reminding me.” The blonde turned to her. “Listen, this weekend, you told me that I _cannot stop_ trying to help people.”

“Yes, when you get your powers back.” The sergeant argued. “You’re not bulletproof right now! You could get shot.”

“I can’t do nothing.” Kara shot back, trying to move past her.

Platt stopped her again. “Honey, you getting killed is not going to help anybody.”

“I have to try.”

“Kara, the bullets are not going to bounce off you this time.”

“They don’t know that.”

“Kara!” Platt watched as the girl she loved like a daughter dodged her and ran out of the building.

Pulling out her phone, she dialed Jay and waited until he picked up.

_“Platt?”_

“Please tell me you can get back here.” She skipped the pleasantries. “You need to get to that bodega robbery.”

_“Kara told us about that. Hailey and I just finished at our scene; we’ll head there now.”_

“Step on it. Kara just put on the suit.” She made her way back to the lobby.

_“Goddammit. We’ll be there in a few.”_

“Jay…”

_“Don’t worry; I’ve got her.”_

* * *

In their car, Jay smacked his hand on the wheel. “Goddammit, Kara.”

Hailey looked at him. “Hey, we’ll get there. Those guys don’t know she doesn’t have her powers.”

“Yeah, well, if they don’t end up killing her, I might.” He told his partner. “This is exactly what I told her not to do!”

“Right, because you wouldn’t have done the same exact thing.” She quipped. “It’s a Halstead trait. You’re all too stubborn for your own good.”

“I’m not going to dignify that with a response.” He told her as he sped around a corner.

“All I’m saying is that you can’t judge her because both you and Will do the same thing.” She stood up for her friend. “Can you imagine how hard it is for her to sit on the sidelines during this whole thing?”

Jay just tightened his hands on the wheel and stared straight ahead. He hadn’t had to worry about her in a long time, and now she was throwing herself head-first into danger without her powers.

He was seriously considering locking her up forever.

* * *

“Get behind the counter!”

“Please don’t do this to my store!” The defenseless owner cried as he stared down the gun in front of him.

“Shut up!” The man behind the weapon yelled. “Don’t make me shoot you.”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Turning to the doorway, the men held up their weapons in Kara’s direction. “That’s not going to work on me.”

“Stay back.” The man told her. “Don’t come any closer.”

Moving forward with one hand outstretched to him, she kept her eyes locked on his and ignored the shaking in her other hand. “You don’t want to hurt these people.”

“Hey!” The man moved his eyes to something behind her and looked panicked.

“Put the gun down.” Jay’s voice reached her ears, and she was annoyed.

“Stand down, detectives.” Kara pulled the man’s focus back to her. “Don’t look at them; look at me. I know you’re scared. We all are.”

Shooting his eyes down for only a second, Jay saw her hand shaking and wanted to interfere, but knew the man could get spooked and shoot her.

“You want to save yourself, your family.” She continued, ignoring her brother. “But don’t you see that we are all in this together? There are about a dozen ways that I could stop you right now. But I don’t think I have to.

“Because this is not you.” Then she looked around at the other men. “This isn’t any of you. I believe that we are better than this. We choose who we want to be. And I know you’re going to choose to be a better man.”

Holding her hand out for the gun, Kara and the detectives behind her held their breaths as they watched the gunman struggle to decide what to do. Then, slowly, he lowered the weapon and allowed her to take it from him.

Then he held his hands up and allowed Jay and Hailey to run over and cuff him and his friends.

Turning to look at her, Hailey smirked. “Damn. You’ve got a way with words.”

Smiling lightly, Kara took a deep breath and followed them out of the store.


	39. Trust

“That was…that was better than catching a plane.” Back in her civilian clothes with the sling, Kara spoke with Hailey as they stood in the Roundup, waiting for Jay to finish locking up the men they’d brought in. “You know what, that was better than the time I stopped the hold-up at the pizzeria, and the owner gave me twelve pizzas.”

“That _was_ good pizza.” The other blonde admitted. “You know Jay is going to kill you for this.”

Kara rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well, it’s been a long time coming, let’s be honest.”

“You’re not worried about that?”

She snorted in laughter. “I’ve had worse nightmares about failing AP Chem in college.”

“Are you clinically insane or just incredibly annoying?”

Throwing the door open with a loud bang, Jay stormed in and came right for her.

“I don’t know,” Kara replied with humor in her voice. “probably both.”

“Do you seriously think this is a joke?” He hollered at her. “That was the exact thing I told you not to do!”

“Did you really think I’d listen?” She argued back. “Besides, don’t act like you wouldn’t have done the same exact thing!”

“Told you.” Hailey shrugged.

“Stay out of this.” Jay snapped at her before turning back to his sister. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

“Of course not. But I cannot sit by while people out there need my help. I’m sorry if that bothers you, but now you know how I felt about you and Will before I came out.” She glared at him. “You can’t ask me not to be who I am, Jay.”

“And you can’t ask me not to worry about you and try to keep you safe!” Both women could see the pain and fear in his eyes. “I cannot lose you, Kara.”

“I’m sorry.” She said quietly. “Not having my powers is killing me. I had to do something.”

He sighed and went to speak again when the building shook for the second time that day, and all three of them struggled to stay standing. It lasted only a few seconds, but when it finished, they were worried.

“What was that?” Jay asked, looking around for any damage.

“That wasn’t an aftershock; that was an explosion,” Hailey told him, looking at Kara.

She nodded. “It’s got to be the gas line.”

They moved to the staircase, but as they approached, a groan filled Kara’s ears, and she looked up to see a cabinet about to topple on Jay and Hailey, who walked in front of her.

“Watch out!”

Running forward, Kara shoved them away, and the cabinet fell, landing on her body.

“Kara!” Jay shouted in fear, but before he could rush to lift it, it flew into the air, hitting the wall.

Standing in front of them, Kara stood in her suit with a smirk on her face, the sling gone and her powers back in full force. “You nearly gave me a heart attack.”

“It must have been what you needed.” Hailey smiled. “Welcome back. There’s a city out there that really needs you.”

Nodding at them, she shot out through the open door and flew over the destruction. Seeing a school bus teetering off the broken edge of a bridge, she flew to it and caught it just as it was about to fall. Hearing the kids inside questioning what happened, she went over to the window and smiled at them before flying away to help everyone else.

* * *

As the team packed up to leave for the night, Jay walked over to Kara’s desk. “You want to come with us to Molly’s? I’ll buy you a drink to celebrate the return of your powers.”

Smiling at him, she sighed and shook her head. “Rain check? I have something I have to do.”

Following her gaze, he nodded in understanding. “You want backup?”

“No, I’ll be okay.”

Tapping his fingers on the desk, he sighed. “Okay. Call me after.”

“I will.” She leaned back in her chair. “Tell Will I’m back to full strength, okay? I know he’s worrying about it.”

“You got it.” He promised. “Good luck.”

Kara waited until everyone but she and Voight had gone home before standing and walking over to his office. Knocking on the open door, she watched as he looked up from his paperwork.

“Got a minute?” She asked, hope in her voice.

He nodded, gesturing for her to come in and have a seat. “How’s your arm?”

Plopping into the chair on the other side of his desk, she shrugged. “That’s what I came here to talk about…sort of.”

“I’m listening.” He leaned back in his chair and gave her his full attention, which she appreciated.

“I lied to you.” She admitted. “I’ve been lying to you for months now.”

“You know what I tell everyone, Kara,” Voight told her carefully. “If you’re in trouble, tell me so that I can lie for you.”

She nodded and stood, turning to walk and look out the doorway into the empty bullpen. “I know. But this wasn’t something that I was comfortable sharing with everyone yet. But with the number of people who know now…and after today…

“I am Supergirl.”

“Kara, I know that it can be hard to stay behind while your brothers and everyone go out and help the city, but you don’t have to pretend to be something you’re not.” He started, and Kara rolled her eyes.

Unbuttoning the front of her shirt, she turned and watched as he stilled at the symbol on her chest. The room fell into silence as she waited for him to speak. She knew how he was when he found out the people closest to him, the people he trusted, were lying. Now she could only hope he would forgive her.

“I’m sorry.” She said after a few minutes.

As she sat again, his eyes locked onto hers. “Explain this to me, please.”

She couldn’t read how he felt, so she opted for buttoning her shirt again as she spoke. “When you and Antonio interrogated me, I told you the truth. My name _is_ Kara Zor-El, I came from the planet Krypton, just like my cousin, and I really did only reveal my powers because Jay was in danger. I couldn’t let him die. I’ve lost too many family members already.”

“And your aunt?”

She fiddled with her glasses and then made a face as she ended up putting them on his desk. “I guess I can take those off…you know Eliza Halstead made those for me when I first moved in? They help to block out all the extra input I receive without them.

“I didn’t know Astra was alive. All I knew was that Kal and I made it out before everything was destroyed. My mother told me that my aunt had disappeared. I just assumed she was on Krypton somewhere when it exploded. I don’t know what she wants with Earth, but it can’t be good.

“Sarge, my parents sent me to Earth to take care of my cousin and maybe, just maybe, protect this planet as they couldn’t protect ours. That is all I am trying to do. I thought that the world didn’t need anyone other than my cousin, but now I realize that it does.”

“Why didn’t you just tell us that? Why lie and make your brothers lie?” He wondered. “Why not trust us?”

“The boys only found out that same day I saved Jay. They didn’t know any of this. My parents and I kept it from them. As for everyone else…” Kara considered her answer carefully. “When you’re an alien, and you’ve lost your world, and you’re dropping into a new one, you don’t have a choice.

“When you are an alien, you’re willing to sacrifice anything, everything, betray your fundamental instincts just to fit in. To belong somewhere, to find your place in this world. But I realized that if I was going to trust others with this secret, you should be one of them. If you want me to tell the team, I will.”

“But you don’t want to.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust them or don’t want them to know. It’s just dangerous for me, especially when more people know than don’t.” She looked down. “I’m sure I’ll tell them eventually, I’m just…not ready yet.”

“I can respect that.”

“What?” Lifting her head, she saw that he was pulling out a bottle of scotch from his desk.

“I understand having secrets.” He told her. “I’m only angry that I didn’t figure it out sooner.”

Unable to stop herself, Kara let a smile fall onto her lips. “Trudy figured it out immediately.”

“Of course, she did.” Voight chuckled. “So…drink?”

“I wouldn’t say no.” Now she was able to relax.

“Does alcohol even affect you?” He asked as he handed her the glass.

“Nope.” She smirked. “But I can always appreciate a good alcohol.”

“Good.” He gave a rare smile. “So who does know about your secret?”

“Let’s see…Jay and Will, obviously. I told Winn right away. Trudy told me right after that case with Vartox. Hailey figured it out soon after that, and then we told Mouch. Then today, when I broke my arm, I had to tell Natalie and Connor.”

“What happened today?”

“I lost my powers when I fought that Red Tornado last week.” She bit her lip.

“Well, then, this must have been an interesting thing to explain to Jay.” He dropped his phone on the desk.

Looking over at it, she stared at a picture of her that was being spread around the internet. “You know, I’ve seen a lot of pictures of myself recently, but this one…this one feels different.”

“That’s because it’s you, not Supergirl, who was able to stop that robbery.” He told her. “From what I was told, you’d make a good hostage negotiator. But I’m glad that we have you on the team. I am selfish enough to admit that.”

“Thank you.” She told him. “That means a lot.”

Voight held up his glass. “To your powers coming back.”

Kara did the same. “To trust.”


	40. Code Silver

“This is ridiculous.”

Two days following the quake, Will insisted that Kara come to Med to make sure her arm was, in fact, fully healed. Though they both knew it was, the older brother in him needed to know for sure. As it was against the rules for a doctor to treat their own family members, Kara sat still as Natalie checked her arm.

“Just indulge me, will you?” He asked, giving her a look over his fiancée’s shoulder.

“You’re overreacting.” She told him.

“No, I’m not.” He insisted, crossing his arms. “Nat, tell her you would have done the same thing.”

As Kara rolled her eyes, Natalie smiled. “Sorry, babe. I’m going with your sister on this one. You know, the literal alien?”

“Oh, come on.” The redhead groaned as Kara laughed.

“I told you!”

“Yeah, whatever.” He watched as Natalie stepped back. “Well?”

“Well, she’s perfectly fine.” The brunette told him. “Actually, she inhumanly fine. The only thing that is wrong is that she’s missing work to be here.”

“Thank you, Nat.” Kara nodded at her. “I’m sorry my brother wasted your time and took you away from your other patients.”

“It’s no problem.” The woman told her. “He would have worried even longer, and then I’d have to hear about it at home.”

“Oh, shit, that’s true.” Kara agreed with her.

“Hey!” Will interrupted them, a disapproving look on his face. “I don’t appreciate you guys making fun of me.”

As Natalie washed her hands, she grinned. “Sorry, babe. Kara, are you coming for dinner this weekend?”

“I wouldn’t miss it.” She smiled. “Text me with whatever you want me to bring.”

“Will do.” Natalie moved to the door. “I’m going to check on my other patients. I’ll make sure Maggie has your discharge papers at the desk, okay?”

“Thanks, Nat.” Will smiled at her, and Kara could see the love between them.

It made her heart warm considerably.

“You got lucky, you know.”

Turning to her, Will nodded. “I know.”

Slipping her light blue cardigan back on, Kara stood and laid her hand on his shoulder. “She’s way too good for you.”

Will shook her off. “Oh, be quiet.”

“Hey! All I’m saying is that she could have chosen anyone, and she chose an overbearing, overprotective, alien-sister-having nutjob.” Kara dodged as he swatted at her head.

“Don’t insult me.” He teased as they left the exam room and approached the desk. “You know what they say about respecting your elders.”

“You know, thanks to my time in the Phantom Zone, I’m technically older than you.” She smirked as he grabbed her paperwork from Maggie.

“Thanks, Maggie.” He shook his head. “Technically, I don’t care.”

Rolling her eyes again at how annoying he could be, she went to speak when a voice filled her ears. _”You need to leave, David.”_

_“No, listen, listen, they’re giving me full-time hours.”_

_“That’s enough! You need to leave.”_

_“No, no. This isn’t about me.”_

“Maggie.” Kara looked at her in concern. “Call security.”

The trio turned to look at the exam room Natalie walked out of as an older man shoved a teenager out after them. “He’s the one leaving.”

“Hey, Maggie, call security?” Natalie asked quickly.

“Already on it.” The nurse told her.

“Alright, I’m going to need you to wait in the lobby, okay?” Natalie told the young man.

“But that that that's my baby!” He argued, and the hair on Kara’s neck started to rise.

“Not anymore.” The older man told him.

“What does that mean?” The boy’s voice was rising in panic. “What does that—what does that mean? Lily?”

The pregnant girl in the room looked at him sadly. “I’m giving the baby up.”

Kara’s eyes flipped between the two sides, carefully watching them both for any signs of movement.

“Did he talk you into this?” The boy, David, asked her as he gestured to the girl’s father. “I’m the father! I have a say!”

The man grabbed him now, and Kara instinctively took a step forward as two security guards rushed over and held him, turning to take him outside. He screamed the entire way, and Kara felt terrible for both parties.

Natalie looked at her sadly, and Kara nodded. Because Natalie was a mother and Kara’s parents had given her up, they both understood the hard choice made here and the indescribable agony of losing your child.

* * *

“Hey, what are you doing back here?”

Fiddling with her glasses, Kara leaned against the nurse’s desk. She had walked out of the ED not long after the earlier commotion, but something in her gut told her to stick around, so she’d turned around almost immediately.

“I wanted to make sure Natalie was okay.” Kara only slightly fibbed. “We both understand the connection between a parent and child and how hard the decision is to give up that child, so I figured she might need someone to talk to.”

“You know what that’s like?” Maggie wondered, her tone filled with compassion.

The blonde nodded. “I’m adopted. My parents had to send me away when I was twelve just before they died, so I know what it’s like to have to make that decision but have no choice.”

“I’m so sorry.” The other woman told her. “I didn’t know.”

“Yeah, no one really does.” She shrugged.

“You guys hide it well.”

“We didn’t, and still don’t, mean to hide it,” Kara told her. “We just don’t advertise it because it doesn’t feel like we aren’t blood-related.”

“I can see that.” Maggie smiled. “You guys are close. It’s nice to see.”

“Hey Maggie, will you page OB and tell them we’re on our way up?” Nat’s voice came from the exam room, and the nurse nodded.

“Copy that.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Kara saw the doors slide open and registered the young boy's familiar face from before. She slowly slid her glasses down her face to use her x-ray vision to check him.

Her stomach instantly went cold.

“Maggie,” she stood up straighter. “it’s the boy. He has a gun.”

“What?” Maggie glanced at her in confusion, but the blonde only nodded.

“Trust me.”

The girl inside the room, Lily, frowned as she saw him. “David?”

“Don’t worry,” he told her. “I’m gonna take care of everything.”

Then he pulled the gun from his pocket, and everyone jumped into action.

Natalie threw herself in front of her patient as Maggie called the police. Kara looked around at the exits, silently calculating how many people would be able to get out before he could start shooting.

She knew she wasn’t going to be one of them.

Suddenly, the girl’s father charged him, and the two men fought, as Maggie yelled into the phone.

“Security, code silver! Active threat in the ED!”

Kara quickly helped usher people out of the building as a gunshot echoed through the room and everyone froze.


	41. Hostage Situation

Kara’s blue eyes flicked around as people ran past her in panic. A second gunshot echoed, and she watched as a security guard fell, blood starting to coat his white shirt. Then her eyes caught a side door opening and watched as Will poked his head into the room.

He was about to step out when he caught sight of Natalie on the ground with the father and shut the door behind him, stepping in further. Then his eyes fell on his sister, and he frowned at her.

Ignoring the look her brother was sending her, she hurried forward to try and help one of the fallen men when David wrapped his arm around her neck and held the gun to her head. As a second security guard came in with his weapon raised, David started yelling back, and Kara held her hands in the air in surrender.

She flicked her eyes to look at Will and shook her head as subtly as she possibly could without tipping the boy off. She knew that while her brother was worried, he also knew that she’d placed herself there purposely.

She’d get shit for it later, but she didn’t care.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!”

Turning her attention back to the situation, she saw Ethan crouching on the ground, trying to move toward the fallen security guard. “I’m a doctor. Let me just take a look.”

“Okay.” David gave in, allowing Ethan to move to the guard.

They saw the guard’s gun at the same time, and David shook his head. “Don’t move! Don’t!”

Kara stayed put as he reached down to grab the second weapon. Now two guns were being held on her, and she wasn’t sure she would be able to control the path of both.

Watching as Will rushed around the desk, Kara sent him a glare as David swung them around to face him. “Hey, hey, hey! I said stop moving!”

Her brother held his hands above his head. “I’m a doctor. I can help.”

David pointed one of the guns to an exam room. “Get…get in there. Now.”

“This room here?”

“Yeah, yeah. Now, now.” David told him.

Then Connor poked his head out of his father’s exam room and tried approaching the girl’s father. “We need to help this man.”

As his ex-girlfriend cried for her father inside her room, David shook. “It wasn’t my fault.”

“But you don’t want him to die, do you?” Connor asked calmly, locking eyes with Kara.

He knew she wasn’t in danger, but he wanted to let her know his plan.

“No,” David told him, pressing the gun close to her face. “Help him, help him.”

“Okay.” Connor dropped to the floor immediately and pulled his gloves on.

Then David spun them again, watching as extra people ran through the doors. Looking at Maggie, he pressed his arm tighter against Kara’s throat.

“How do I lock the doors?”

Maggie looked at them nervously. “You need keys.”

“Get them!” He hollered at her. “Now! Now!”

As Maggie held up the keys, David nodded. “Alright, lock all the doors. Now!”

Looking around, he pulled her back, so she had to walk backward until they were hidden behind a pillar. “Hey, they…they, they can see me! They can see where I—they’re gonna shoot me!” Then he saw Will. “Hey, you. I have to cover the windows! What do I use?”

Will looked pissed. “I don’t know.”

“How about…how about…how about sheets?” He asked the doctor. “You have lots of those, right? Do it, now.”

As Will grabbed the sheets, David shoved her toward him. “You…help them.”

She took the sheets her brother handed her and moved to help him cover the windows. As he ripped the tape they needed to hold the sheets in place, Kara held the sheet up to the top of the doorway.

“Hey,” Will whispered as he secured it to the wall. “can you do something?”

She shook her head. “It’s too risky. If I move too quickly, he’ll start shooting. I may be bulletproof, but the bullets bounce off of me, and they could hit anyone. If I’m not careful, we could have a bigger problem on our hands.”

“That makes sense.” He told her as they moved to the next window. “You’ve given this some thought.”

“This isn’t my first fight.” She reminded him. “Listen, though, if he starts to get an even itchier trigger finger, turn the attention on me as much as possible. I’ll take him down.”

“What if someone sees you?” He wondered now, just realizing what that would mean for her.

“Will,” she looked up at him. “if it comes down to these people or my secret? I won’t hesitate to shout it from the rooftops. Their lives—your life—come first.”

“Okay.” He said reluctantly. “I’ll make sure it turns to you if need be.”

They were pulled back when David started yelling at everyone. “I just want to get my girlfriend and my baby out of here. I don’t want to hurt anybody else, but I will if you get in my way.”

Kara felt Will grab her hand and squeeze as they watched David talk to Connor across the room. The surgeon was fighting like hell to save the father’s life, but it wasn’t looking good. As Connor and Maggie made sure he was getting them what they needed to save the man’s life, Kara clutched her brother’s hand back and hoped she was reassuring him.

She hated that he, and some of her closest friends, were in this position. She wished they were all as bulletproof as she was.

Then Natalie came out and told them that Lily was about to deliver, and Kara knew things were going to get more complicated. Following her brother across the room, she listened as Natalie directed the boy to get the supplies she needed.

He pointed his gun at Will. “You heard her. You get it.”

Will nodded, moving to grab the necessary supplies, and David turned on Kara. “You get in there. Go. Now, now.”

She moved carefully in the direction of the room he wanted her in and made sure not to turn her back on him as she did. Entering the room, she listened to Lily scream and sighed. She was frustrated that she couldn’t help, but she knew that she was risking everyone’s safety if she moved too soon.

She had to wait for the right moment to step in. But waiting, she knew, was torture.

Will walked over, catching her eyes for a moment, and she knew they had a silent plan in their heads. Then he looked at David. “Dr. Manning is gonna need another set of hands to deliver your child.”

The boy nodded. “Yeah, okay. Help her, help her, help her!”

She saw Will disappear past the wall that divided the rooms and took a deep breath to keep her calm. Though he had annoyed her at the moment, she thanked Rao that Will had made her come in and get her arm checked. If he hadn’t, she wouldn’t have been there when the shit hit the fan.

“I just couldn’t let him take our baby like that, Lily,” David told the struggling girl. “I could…I couldn’t do it. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

Kara doubted the girl would forgive him after this, especially considering he shot her father, but she wasn’t about to tell him that.

“We can raise this kid together.” He told her.

However, Kara ignored him as she peeked around the door frame and saw Ethan sneaking forward to grab the gun from him. She shook her head at him, knowing it wouldn’t end well, but he waved her off, ignoring her protests.

“I know we can. And I know that’s what you want too.” David continued, oblivious to the doctor’s movements.

“No.” Lily cried as she spoke. “I just want my life to go back to normal. I wanna finish high school. I wanna go to college.”

“No, no, no, no. That’s your dad talking, alright? And I’m gonna fix everything as soon as we get out of here.” Then Ethan accidentally stepped in a pile of glass, crushing it beneath his foot and alerting everyone to his position. “Hey. Get back! You stay where I can see you, alright?”

Then he pointed the gun at April, who Kara saw hiding behind a curtain, and made her handcuff him to the nurse’s station. Lowering her glasses slightly, Kara decided she needed to take stock of everyone who was still trapped inside the ED.

In addition to the people she already knew about, she could see Connor’s father in his room, and a small boy in the room April had just vacated.

“I want my mommy.” The little boy cried from his doorway, and Kara felt horrible.

She watched as April ran back in and helped him back into bed just as David stormed over and tore the curtain down so he could see everyone. “I will shoot the next person that tries anything!”

Kara narrowed her eyes as she watched him pace the room. She would have to act soon, she knew, and that meant telling her secret. Her life would change after today, and she couldn’t do anything but let it happen.

She just hoped she wasn’t traced back to her cousin.


	42. Extreme Irritation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To my American followers: Happy Inauguration Day!!

Kara tapped her foot quietly as she watched the scene play out in front of her. She could hear Connor’s frantic directions to Maggie as they worked on Lily’s father mixed with the cries the young girl gave as she tried to deliver her baby.

This wasn’t going to end well, she knew. She just hoped they could prevent as many casualties as possible. However, with as frantic as David was, she wasn’t sure that would be the case.

“You!” Looking up, Kara straightened her back as David stormed over to her. “Come with me.”

Grabbing her by the arm, he held his gun to her chest as they made their way to the door. Handing her the keys that Maggie had discarded, he shoved her forward and grabbed her shoulder with one hand, the gun in the other as he made her unlock it to allow Ms. Goodwin inside with the materials they needed.

“Open it!” He demanded, and Kara did as he asked.

Once Goodwin had slid inside, he grabbed the blonde by the neck and spun her around. She gave him the keys as he demanded and shared a look with the elder nurse as she tried to talk him down.

“David,” Goodwin said carefully, following them as he escorted Kara back to her room. “David, what are you doing with the gun?”

“Just help me.” He pleaded with her. “Okay?”

He pointed her in the direction of Connor and Maggie before shoving Kara back into her room. Then she watched as Goodwin checked on the patient, soon leaving the room to speak to David again.

“David,” she said carefully. “Lily’s father is not going to last much longer down here.”

David looked over in fear. “Uh, but the doctor said he needed blood, and they got him blood.”

“He needs surgery and a full trauma team if he’s going to survive.” She told him.

Looking back at the injured man, David sighed. “Just Lily’s dad. No one else.”

“But I’ve got a very sick little boy down there and a man with a bad heart. They need to go, too.” She tried to convince him.

“No,” he was becoming agitated again. “Just Lily’s dad, and then we’ll see.”

Nodding, Goodwin took the battles she could win. “Okay.”

Kara watched as David led her over to Connor and Maggie’s exam room and thought about what move she should make. Though she could hear and see what was happening around her, she didn’t have any medical knowledge, so knowing just how bad each patient was fairing was hard for her to gauge.

* * *

“David, please.” Goodwin pleaded with the gunman. “Let me talk to the police for you, try to figure a way out of this.”

They had successfully transferred Lily’s father out of the ED, but SWAT had tried to bust in, causing the boy to hold her at gunpoint. Kara cursed SWAT and their attempt to overpower him as all they had managed to do was make him even angrier.

“No!” He insisted but was interrupted when April stepped out of her room.

“I need a doctor in here!” She told them, and everyone saw Ethan hold his hand up when the gun faced her. “This boy is not responding to his medication. I can’t get his fever down.”

“David, please,” Ethan begged. “just uncuff me so I can check on him.”

“Do you think I’m stupid?” Kara watched as David snapped at him before looking at April. “Deal with the kid yourself.”

As he finished speaking, a loud ringing filled her ears, and her brother’s voice carried over to her. “Nat, fetal heart tones just flipped to the other side.”

“I just felt something shift.” The girl said in a panic. “Does that mean the baby’s coming out?”

Lowering her glasses again, Kara looked into the next room to see what was happening. If she was going to intervene, she needed to know what to expect.

“Let me see.” Nat moved to feel the baby. “The baby just went transverse.”

“Wait, what does that mean?” David asked, and Goodwin spared a look in Kara’s direction.

“Come on, Will…” Kara bit her lip as she waited for the signal to jump in.

“The baby’s turned sideways in her uterus.” He told David. “She can’t deliver like that.”

“So, what happens now?” The scared father asked him.

“Now, my brother gives me the signal, and we put the attention on _me_ ,” Kara muttered to herself in annoyance and anticipation.

“We need to move her upstairs,” Natalie told him.

He shook his head. “No, you do it here.”

“Well, then I need you to get me something out of the Pyxis.” She gestured in the direction she needed. “A medication, Terbutaline.”

Goodwin waved them off. “I’ll get it.”

“Are you going to turn the baby?” Will lowered his voice to talk to his fiancée.

She sighed. “Water hasn’t broken yet, and the Terbutaline should soften her uterus.”

“She’s in labor.” Will reminded her. “We could cause a placental abruption or a prolapse.”

“Well, he’s not giving me any other choice.” She snapped back and watched as he sighed before giving her an apologetic look. “What?”

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly and then raised his voice. “So, Kara, I heard about your idiotic bodega stunt.”

‘Good,’ she thought. ‘he’s finally bringing me into it.’

“Jay’s a blabbermouth.” She shouted back. “He had no reason to tell you about that.”

“Really? Because I think he had every reason to tell me.” Her brother’s voice held pretend annoyance so well, she figured there was some truth to his argument. “What the hell were you thinking?”

“I was thinking that they needed help and no one else was available.” She retorted. “Tell me you or Jay wouldn’t have done exactly the same thing.”

“We’re talking about you right now, not us.” He told her and saw Goodwin’s confused expression as she entered the room again.

“What’s going on?” She asked Natalie quietly.

The brunette sighed. “Kara is Supergirl.”

The elder nurse let her jaw fall only slightly. “What?”

“If we can keep the attention on her, it gives us time to help everyone and possibly keep anyone else from getting hurt,” Will said quickly as his sister yelled back to him.

“It seems like we’re always talking about me.” Kara made sure she placed herself in a spot where she was in David’s eye line so he’d pull the gun away from them and point it at her. “Why can’t we ever talk about the stupid shit you two pull? Because let me tell you, it happens _a lot_.”

“Hey!” David yelled, taking the bait and walking to her, the gun raised to the same height as her face. “Stop that.”

“Excuse me, but I’m trying to have a discussion with my brother if you don’t mind.” She said, using as much snark in her tone as she dared.

“Well, sorry, I’m just really tired of watching you get thrown off the tops of buildings,” Will replied, causing Kara to roll her eyes instinctually.

“I mean, at least I can fly.” She told him. “You shouldn’t be that worried.”

“My God, you’re annoying. I don’t know how Jay stands working with you every single day.”

“Hey!” David yelled at them.

Kara waved him off. “Oh, don’t worry about it. He’s right. I was an extremely irritating child.”

“I don’t care!” He shouted at her. “I want you to shut up!”

“Yes, what a good idea, Will!” Kara ignored the boy. “Why don’t you shut up for once and let me speak!”

He was about to respond again when another loud tone sounded, and everyone turned to look in the direction of Connor’s dad’s room.

This was going bad really fast, and Kara only hoped they could fix it quickly or more people were going to die.


	43. Breaking the Code

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's see if anyone can guess the double meaning I put into the title, or if I'm just overthinking things as usual.

“That man needs to be moved upstairs.” Goodwin stormed out of the exam room. “He just had a heart attack.”

It had taken them a few tense minutes to get Connor’s dad stabilized, but once they did, it was evident that he needed to be in surgery immediately. Unfortunately, that wasn’t in David’s plan.

“No.” He told her. “No, no, no, no!”

Kara thought he sounded like a toddler when he didn’t get dessert before dinner.

“Not after what happened last time.” He argued, and Kara once again cursed SWAT and their attempts to get inside.

“If he dies, they’re going to hold you responsible.” She informed him.

“I didn’t do anything to hurt him!” David shouted.

“It’ll be the same as if you had.” She sighed. “Look, David, I know you didn’t want any of this to happen, and it’s not too late to walk it back. They were taking your child away. That’s something anyone can understand. Please let these people go.”

“No, no! Because then I go to prison, and then my kid is just gone forever!” They could tell he was ready to cry.

“There are worse things,” Kara said from her room, causing both Goodwin and David to look at her. “My parents wanted me more than anything in the universe, and they still had to give me away. Then they died, and I had to grow up without them and without ever being able to find them or speak to them.

“I grew up wondering why it happened and why I wasn’t good enough. At least your child will have you alive, and maybe you’d be able to get some rights to see them. I never had that, David.”

As she finished speaking, Lily screamed from her room, and as they rushed over, Kara gazed through the wall in time to see Will lay her back against the bed and check her eyes.

“She’s hypotensive.”

“What’s that mean?” David asked quickly, panic dripping into his voice.

“Her blood pressure’s dropping,” Goodwin told him.

“She must be bleeding from somewhere.” Natalie jumped in.

Now, Will was pissed. “We’re losing the baby.”

“We need to do a c-section now, or you’re going to lose them both,” Natalie said frantically, quickly losing her temper.

“Well, if either of them die, I’m gonna kill you.” He told her.

“Hey!” Will shouted this time, and Kara knew he was worried about losing the love of his life.

Kara wasn’t about to let that happen.

“Fix it!” David shouted. “Now.”

Moving back from the room, David put his fists on his head and panicked about what to do.

In Lily’s room, Will lowered his voice so low, he knew only Kara would hear him. “I’m sorry, K. We’re going to need help soon.”

Kara knew he felt terrible about her having to reveal her identity, but as long as she saved their lives, she could live with the consequences.

“Dr. Rhodes?” Kara watched as David grabbed Nat and dragged her to where Connor was standing. “Lily needs your help.”

“I’m not leaving my father,” Connor told him.

Natalie frowned. “Connor, I think her uterus ruptured. She needs immediate surgery before she and the baby bleed to death.”

“I will do the surgery,” Connor agreed. “if you agree to transfer my father upstairs.”

“No, you can fix him here.”

“I can’t!” The surgeon shouted. “He needs an operating room with a bypass machine!”

“Operate on Lily, or I will kill you right here.” David moved the gun, so it was on Connor now.

Connor frowned. “You want to kill the only person who can save her?”

“I will transfer his father.” Everyone turned to look at Goodwin. “And I give you my word; I will not let SWAT in. Please, David, Lily and the baby are losing valuable time.”

“Okay.” He relented and followed the doctors with his gun as Goodwin pulled out her cell phone.

Stepping out of the room to watch them, Will glanced to the room next door and saw his sister standing in her doorway. When she saw him, she nodded, showing that she had a plan; all he needed to do was focus on his patient.

When Natalie and Connor got to the room, she saw them both glance at her before turning to Will. “Bring whatever blood we have to the hybrid OR. Prep her belly, scrub in. I’m gonna need your help.”

He moved again in the hybrid OR’s direction and passed Kara’s room, where Goodwin stood in the doorway making her phone call. “Daniel, I…I…I’m…I’m bringing another patient out. Uh, but it’s getting out of hand in here, and I need you to keep the SWAT back. Listen…”

Kara moved forward slowly, laying her hand on the woman’s shoulder. When she turned to face her, Kara pointed to herself and then at the phone. Understanding when the young woman meant, Goodwin shook her head.

“Are you sure?”

The Kryptonian nodded. “Tell him.”

_“Sharon?”_

“I’m here, Daniel. Listen, you need to tell SWAT that they cannot enter yet.” She sighed. “We have Supergirl in here, but she’s in civilian form. You guys need to let her handle this.”

_“Okay.”_

As Goodwin hung up, she looked at Kara. “You didn’t need to do that.”

“If this goes the way I think it will,” she looked around the room and kept her eyes on David. “more than just you and Dr. Charles will be finding out my identity today.”

* * *

Kara shared a look with Goodwin as they pushed Mr. Rhodes’ gurney to the door to be transported out. The blonde knew she had to act quickly, but she needed as many innocents out as she could get, and if she acted now, her friend’s father might die because she acted rashly.

It was better to wait for the perfect moment.

As Kara moved to unlock the door again, Goodwin called out to the people behind the door. “Daniel?”

_“We’re here, Sharon.”_

“I’ve got a gun on me.” She told him. “So, if anyone charges through when we open this door-”

_“No one’s gonna do that. I promise you. You can open the door.”_

Goodwin looked at Kara first, who nodded before turning to the teenager. “He’s my friend. I trust him.”

Seeing him nod, Kara pulled the door open and found Dr. Charles waiting for them. “Give me the patient.”

As soon as Goodwin had wheeled the gurney out to him, Kara shut the door and locked it again. Then he walked them back and put Kara in her room before moving to watch everyone else perform the c-section on Lily.

Lowering her glasses again, Kara watched the procedure from her spot across the room.

“Sats are good. Ketamine’s in.” Will said, watching her vitals on the screen behind him.

Looking up at his colleagues and friends, Connor sighed. “Everybody ready?”

He cut into her stomach, and even from across the ED, Kara knew the amount of blood coming from the young girl was dangerous.

“Her uterus ruptured.” Connor groaned as they worked to control the bleeding.

David started to panic as he and Goodwin watched through the window. “Wait, what’s happening?”

“I don’t know.” The woman told him honestly, hoping the girl survived this ordeal.

Back inside the room, Natalie winced. “The baby’s floating in the abdomen. Need suction.”

Connor’s adrenaline was through the roof. “I’m in there.”

He pulled the baby out as quickly as possible, but while they checked its vitals, a loud tone sounded, alerting them to more problems.

“Mom’s pressure is crashing.” Kara heard her brother said frantically. “O negs running in.”

Moving quickly, Natalie grabbed the baby boy and hurried away to check on him as the rest of the team worked on Lily.

“Keep suction going,” Connor told Maggie. “More laps.”

Knocking on the door, David tightened his grip on the gun. “Don’t let her die! You hear me?”

Kara watched with bated breath as she saw Goodwin turn slightly and hold her hand up, telling her to wait to make her move. Trusting the woman, Kara did as she was told.

“What’s happening with the baby?” David asked Natalie, lowering the gun, so it hung next to him.

Her soon to be sister-in-law sighed as Maggie came to help her. “His color’s coming back. He’s stable for now.”

“Guys, I need a little help over here!”

Kara focused harder on the surgery Connor and her brother were performing and saw that things weren’t going as they wanted.

“Wait, what about Lily?” The boy wondered, shifting his gaze from his son to her.

“She’s lost a lot of blood,” Connor told him. “What…what have we got left?”

“I’m hanging my last two of FFP,” Will told him, keeping his movements steady as he breathed for her. “She’s not stable.”

“Alright,” Connor’s voice was tense. “keep suctioning.”

Goodwin, David, and Kara watched and waited as they worked tirelessly to save the young girl’s life. Then, just as it looked like they wouldn’t be able to stop the bleeding, Connor managed to tie off the bleed and finish the surgery.

Goodwin took her chance to talk to David again. “See? Lily’s okay. They stopped the bleeding, and…and your baby’s here. Just like Kara said before, you can still have a meaningful life with him, David. _Please_ put the gun down. I promise to make sure this baby stays a part of your life.”

“No.” He shook his head. “I’m taking Lily and my baby, and we’re getting out of here.”

Realizing she wouldn’t be able to talk him down, Goodwin sighed and stared at him. Then she moved her hand as if it had twitched, but Kara knew what it was—a message to get ready to move.

* * *

As the group of doctors woke Lily up, Kara surveyed the area to decide her best plan of action. She was ready to pounce when she needed to but also wanted to keep as many people out of the line of fire as she could.

Then David stormed into the room, and she knew her time was up.

“Hey, Lily, we’re gonna go right now, alright?”

Connor shook his head. “That’s not happening.”

“She can barely move in her condition,” Will told him.

“Stop talking,” David told him, holding up the gun again. “We gotta go. Lily, we gotta go right now. Alright?”

“David, no.” The brave girl told him.

As he debated the logistics with her, Kara saw Goodwin move slowly behind him, lifting the baby from its bed. Knowing David would freak out when he saw, Kara steeled herself and walked out of her room.

Seeing her movements, Ethan and April tried to wave her off, but she ignored them as she strode across the ED. Everyone’s eyes shifted as Goodwin backed out of the room with the baby, David and his gun following her.

“Give me my son.”

“I can’t do that, David.” She told him.

Before he could see Kara moving to them, he swung around and pointed his weapon at Connor, Will, Maggie, and Natalie, who had tried to advance on him. Kara took this opportunity to place herself between him and Goodwin.

“Ms. Goodwin, hand him over.” Turning back to face her, he became even angrier as he found Kara standing in his way. “Hey! I told you to stay put.”

Moving so that his gun was focused on her, he walked forward as she felt Goodwin move further away behind her. “I don’t usually like to listen to anybody holding a gun on people I care about.”

“Get out of my way.” He told her, moving so he stood right in front of her. “Now.”

Holding her hands out, she glared at him. “No.”

“If you don’t move, I will shoot you in the face!” He shouted at her.

“Then do it!” She shouted back.

Letting her instincts take over, she moved quickly and pressed the palm of her hand against the barrel of the gun as he pulled the trigger, effectively stopping the bullet from advancing.

Now he looked scared as he stared at her. “You…you’re her!”

She nodded. “I am. And if you don’t put that gun down, I’ll sear your hand off and _make_ you put it down.”

Moving away from her in fear, she advanced on him until a loud gunshot sounded, and his body hit the floor, dead on impact.

As the room filled with SWAT members, Dr. Charles, and other police officers, Kara moved away and made her way to where her brother stood. When she reached him, he tore his gloves off and pulled her close to his side.

He knew she had a code about not killing anybody, and although they all knew she had no choice in this case, as her brother, he knew she would be beating herself up for this for a very long time.

“Are you okay?” He asked her, searching her for any signs of shock or emotion.

Shaking her head, she turned her body from the scene and pressed her face into his chest, letting a sob rip from her throat. Wrapping his arms around her, he held her tightly and rested his chin on her head.

“It’s okay.” He told her quietly as her body shook. “You’re okay. I’m here.”


	44. Another Knowledgeable Group

After being questioned by the police, Will managed to get Kara alone in a room to help her calm down. Though she knew she had to do it, being the cause of someone’s death went against every principle she and her cousin held, and it would be a long time before she stopped seeing his bloody face in her sleep.

Though the first thing she wanted to do was call Clark and discuss what happened, she knew there was something else that had to be done first. That phone call would have to wait.

Once Will managed to talk his traumatized sister down from going into shock, he held her again and told her that he had Natalie gather everyone together so they could talk about what happened. Though they’d all been stuck in the hostage situation, Kara knew he was referring to everyone finding out about her secret family heritage.

“You got lucky,” Will told her, her hand stuck tightly in his own as they walked to the meeting room where everyone had gathered.

He was right. As Lily had been so out of it from blood loss and the boy in April’s room had been hidden by the wall, the only people to find out her secret that day had been Goodwin, Dr. Charles, Maggie, Ethan, April, and David. With the latter being dead, only those in their makeshift work-family knew.

“I did.” She agreed with a sigh.

Stopping outside the door, Will faced her. “Hey, can I ask you a favor?”

She nodded. “Anything.”

“Stay with Nat and me tonight?” He asked with concern on his face. “I know you can handle yourself and that you probably just want to go home, but I would feel better if-”

“Yes.” She interrupted him. “Thanks.”

It worried him that she agreed so quickly, but he would inquire about that later. He opened the door, giving her a look of support, and the siblings came face to face with everyone sitting at the conference table. Natalie sent Kara a smile as they entered and stood in front of them.

“Thank you all for meeting like this,” Kara said awkwardly. “I know we need to talk, and I needed it to be before we all went our separate ways.”

“We should probably wait for Dr. Rhodes to join us, don’t you think?” Goodwin wondered, but Kara shook her head.

“Connor actually already knew before today, so I told him he could go be with his father.” She fiddled with her glasses.

Seeing the nervous habit, Will put his hand on her arm and continued for her. “I know you guys probably have a lot of questions, but please go easy on her.”

He sat in a chair next to Ethan, leaning back to prepare for any challenging questions that might be thrown their way. Kara looked around the table and chose the seat between her brother and Natalie, causing her nerves to ease slightly as she knew she was supported and protected on both sides.

She knew Will had left that spot available, purposefully choosing not to sit by his fiancée, for that very reason.

Dr. Charles leaned forward to look at the blonde. “Unless anyone has any objections, I have two questions to start.” He waited for a moment as they all let him speak. “First, are you okay?”

Blinking the residual tears from her eyes, Kara shrugged. “I don’t know. We have a code not to kill anyone, and even though I know it was the only way, it doesn’t make what I did any easier.”

He nodded. “Just know…you saved all of us today. Now, how exactly was it that you could do all that?”

Sitting back in her chair, she forced herself to relax. “Well, as you guys have probably figured out by now, I’m the one that’s been flying around the city in a skirt and cape.”

“But…I mean, how is that even possible?” April asked her from her seat beside Ethan.

“As more and more people are finding out, I was adopted by the Halsteads when I was twelve. I was originally born on a planet called Krypton, but my planet died when I was twelve. My parents sent me here to save my life and take care of my baby cousin. Our planet orbited a red sun, but as your planet has a yellow sun, that’s how I get my powers.”

“So, your cousin,” Maggie raised her eyebrows. “is that Superman?”

Kara nodded. “Yes. He is older than I am because the pod I was sent in got trapped in a section of space where time doesn’t exist. I don’t know how I got out, but when I landed, it had been over two decades, and Kal was already grown, so he brought me to live with the Halsteads. Eliza was a scientist who helped him once, and he knew I’d be safe with them.”

“So you’ve been keeping this secret for her all this time?” Ethan asked Will.

The redhead shook his head. “Jay and I only found out the day she showed her powers to the world…when she stopped that building from falling on him.”

“I promised my parents—Pat and Eliza—that I wouldn’t say anything to them until we were ready. After our mother died, our father made me promise not to tell them, as he was worried something would happen. So I hid myself away and tried to be normal. But then he and that building collapsed, and I couldn’t let Jay die.

“After that, I knew that I had to do more…just like my cousin. I was sent here to do more than just sit behind a desk. So Winn made me my suit, and I haven’t gone back since. I’ve gotten lucky by having most of my team not figure it out yet. But today…well, I knew I needed to protect everyone.”

“That’s…incredible.” April smiled at her.

Maggie turned to Natalie. “How long have you known?”

“During the quake, Connor tackled her, and she broke her arm.” The brunette told her friend. “She’d lost her powers recently and needed help but knew that if she came here, we’d do bloodwork, which would be bad for obvious reasons. So she had him bring her to our house, and that’s when he and I found out.”

Kara nodded. “Listen, I have no problem answering any question you guys have, no matter how big or small, but I need to ask you all a massive favor.”

“We are asking you guys not to tell anyone.” Will took over for her, knowing she was getting worked up. “The only people right now who know are everyone in this room plus Connor, Jay, Hailey, Winn, and Platt and Mouch.”

“And Voight,” Kara added and shrugged when he gave her a look. “Sorry, I guess I forgot to tell you. I told him after the quake.”

“Okay, so Voight too, then.” He added to his list. “I know that this is a lot to ask, but if anyone found out that we couldn’t trust…” He trailed off.

“I _cannot_ and _will not_ lose my sister to some government agency that wants to experiment on her or something. I just won’t.”

“I understand that finding this out is not something that you were expecting.” Kara picked up where he left off. “And, I completely understand if you are scared and want me to keep my distance. But I promise all I want to do is help this city and everyone in it. I will stay away from Med as much as possible if you want me to, but please…keep this secret between those of us who know. That is all I ask.”

At this statement, Goodwin stood from her chair and moved to the end of the table. Looking down in guilt, Kara waited for her to leave, only to be surprised as she laid her hand on the girl’s shoulder.

“Kara…you saved our lives today.” She told her. “You didn’t have to reveal your powers, but you did because you care more about saving people than saving yourself. That is a remarkable trait to have, and it makes you a wonderful hero, super or not. I think I can speak for everyone in this room when I say that we will keep your secret for you, and you are welcome in this hospital any time.

“We…all of us…we cannot even begin to know how to repay you. Just knowing you are out there is enough to help me sleep better at night. Do not ever forget that you have a community to lean on if you ever need it.”

Smiling up at the woman, Kara nodded. “Thank you, Ms. Goodwin. You guys can actually thank Will for me being here today. He was playing overprotective brother and dragged me in.”

“Oh, come on, not this again!” He complained, glad that she was teasing him again as the haunted look on her face disappeared.

“Yeah, he’s known for that.” Ethan joked with her, causing laughter to fill the room.

Glancing at her brother, she nodded at him. He knew she was thanking him for helping her handle this talk and for taking care of her even though he’d been through the same event she had. She may have been the bulletproof one, but sometimes even superheroes needed someone to lean on.

Goodwin had been right, Kara thought to herself. She had a community to lean on whenever she needed them. However, at least for tonight, she would rely on her brother and let Supergirl have a night off from crime-fighting.

There would be enough of that in the following days, anyway, she guessed, and let herself relax in the comfort of her family.


	45. Welcome To Your Life

“Shit.”

Looking up from the table she was pushing closer to the wall, Kara frowned at Maggie. “You okay?”

The nurse sighed. “No. I can’t reach high enough to loop this end of the banner around the hook.”

Kara smirked, leaving her task to take the item out of her hand. “Let me.”

Looking around to make sure no one was watching them, she flew slowly into the air and was able to successfully loop the ribbon where it needed to hang before lowering herself to the floor. Then she laughed at the look on her friend’s face.

It was the night before her brother’s wedding, and as they were using Molly’s for their reception, some of their friends had volunteered to set up the bar for the party. Kara had been one of them, wanting to make sure the day was as perfect as it could be for her brother. She felt he deserved it after putting up with so much shit in his journey before finally connecting with Natalie.

“I still can’t get over that.” Maggie smiled at the blonde’s use of her powers. “It’s so cool.”

Kara shrugged. “I think so too.”

“Really?”

“I hid my powers for decades, Maggie.” Kara reminded her friend. “I spent all that time watching Kal use his powers, and now that I can use them again, I just can’t get enough of them.”

“I wish I had your powers. Do you know how much easier my job would be?” Maggie laughed.

“Yeah, but then you have to come up with excuses as to why you can do it or why you need to leave, and it gets exhausting.”

“Oh…I forgot that part. Good point.”

They moved on to finish their other tasks, and Kara shrugged when the group was finally able to sit and have a drink. Because the trio sat in the corner of the bar, Kara felt she had no need to worry about who heard her talking.

“Do you guys know anywhere I can find someone who designs bulletproof dresses? Could I just google it?” The Kryptonian furrowed her brow. “Maybe search it on Etsy?”

April chuckled. “I’m not sure that’s how that works.”

“Yeah, besides, couldn’t Winn just make you one like he did your suit?” Maggie questioned over her martini.

“Um, no, thank you,” Winn told her as he approached the table. “I can do suits, but dresses? Who do I look like? Vera Wang?”

Kara laughed. “Winn, what are you doing here? I thought you and Jay were taking Will out for drinks?”

He nodded and plopped into the seat next to her. “We did. He wanted to stop by here before we called it a night. Which is probably both a good thing and bad because he really needs sleep.”

Though she was confused, Kara quickly found out what he meant as he heard loud talking from the bar and shook her head. “Oh, Rao.”

Her brothers stood arm in arm against the barstools swaying to the music Herrmann had put on in the background. Their eyes were closed, and they each held a beer in one hand.

“Should we do something?” April asked quickly, with an amused look on her face.

Kara snorted. “You mean besides laugh?”

“Kara…” Maggie chided, and the blonde shrugged.

“Hey! Everyone was thinking it; I just said it.” She defended herself. “Besides, that’s sort of my go-to move when it comes to their drunken antics.”

“Good, because it looks like you’re driving them home tonight,” Maggie told her.

“Actually, no.” Kara shook her head. “I flew here. Winn?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll handle it.” Her friend sighed. “You’re lucky you guys are like my only family.”

Hugging him, Kara smiled. “You’re the best, Winn. Thanks.”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t say you wouldn’t owe me.” He joked, and she nodded.

“Of course!” She promised. “Anything.”

Winn nodded, staying silent. He knew what he wanted but wasn’t sure if she would be able to give it to him. Instead, he held his tongue and let them celebrate her brother’s last night as a single man.

* * *

As soon as Kara shoved her brothers into the back of Winn’s car, she rounded the corner and shot into the air. It was a beautiful night, and she smiled as the cool air blew through her air and ruffled her cape.

The following day, her brother and friend would finally be married, and she couldn’t be happier if she tried. Their relationship had seemed like a roller coaster at times, but they finally found their way back on track. She couldn’t wait to have a sister and be able to call Owen her nephew, officially.

Her heart clenched, however, at the thought of their parents not being able to attend. It was cruel that life had taken that chance away from not only her but her brothers as well. They’d lost Pat so close to the wedding that Kara was shocked her brother didn’t postpone but also knew that he was right about continuing with the good things in life. Though she, Natalie, and Jay had told him that they would support him in whatever he chose, he was adamant that they keep on living and celebrating the happy moments.

And if that was what her brother wanted, that was precisely what she intended on doing.

Kara was so lost in thought she didn’t see the body flying at her at a faster speed until it slammed into her and sent them both sprawling out into a parking lot atop an industrial building. The ground cracked as she landed with a groan, and two soldiers landed smoothly in front of her.

Attempting to calm her panicked heart, she took a few steps backward. “Who are you?”

They didn’t need to respond as Astra appeared in front of her. “They’re with me.”

“Astra.” Kara ground her teeth against the name as the Kryptonian soldiers grabbed her and held her in place.

“My dear niece.” Astra’s voice held a condescending tone. “Did you really think this was over?”

Timing out her attack, Kara sent her fist flying from the soldier’s hand into the face of the other. Then she shoved her elbow into the gut of the second man before attempting to fly away. Unfortunately, her aunt was faster and grabbed her, holding Voight’s Kryptonite dagger to her neck.

The pain of the element had her groaning. “Why doesn’t Kryptonite hurt you?”

“Kryptonite?” Astra chuckled as she released the blonde. “Is that what you call it? It’s just like any other dangerous substance.” She kicked her in the chest. “Shield yourself in the right materials, and it becomes harmless.”

The general gestured to the glowing device on her suit, and Kara realized she was severely outnumbered. “Afraid of a fair fight?”

“I don’t want to fight you, Kara.” The woman told her. “I’ve been blaming you for things that happened a long time ago.”

As she went to rest her hand on the girl’s shoulder, Kara jerked back. “Don’t touch me.”

“Your mother always said you had the heart of a hero,” Astra told her. “I need for you to be a hero, Kara. It’s time for us to be a family again.”

“You’re not my family.” Kara spat at her.

She thought of her brothers, sloppy drunk and probably begging Winn to drive them through somewhere for food. Of Natalie at home with Helen taking care of Owen and getting ready for the wedding. Of Mouch and Trudy having dinner at home much like any other night. Of her friends who either knew her secret or didn’t, but supported her anyway. Those were the people in her family, not this evil woman in front of her.

“I know you hate me,” Astra told her.

“Good,” Kara said as she backed herself into the sidewall. “We understand each other.”

Then she flung herself over the side of the wall, smashing a hole into the ground and disappearing from sight. Though Astra’s soldiers ran to find her, they knew she was long gone.


	46. The Wedding of the Century

Kara smiled as she looked at herself in the full-length mirror placed in the corner of the room. The eggplant-colored dress she wore brushed against the silver heels she donned on her feet and fit her figure perfectly. Her hair had been curled and pulled back, so that half was tied up while the rest brushed her shoulders.

To keep her secret safe, Natalie was more than willing to let her wear her glasses with the outfit.

“You know, it really isn’t fair.”

Turning to look at her soon-to-be sister-in-law, Kara scrunched her face in confusion. “What isn’t?”

“The fact that your alien DNA makes you the most gorgeous one in the building on my wedding day,” Natalie smirked as she and Maggie looked at the blonde.

The woman in question laughed, shaking her head at their jokes. “Oh, stop it. First of all, that’s not a real power I possess, unfortunately. Second, there is no one more beautiful than you right now, Nat.”

When the dark-haired doctor smiled, Maggie nodded. “She’s right.”

“Will won’t be able to think straight when he sees you up there,” Kara told her. “I’m afraid he may need to be resuscitated. It’s too bad there won’t be any doctors in the place.”

The other two laughed at Kara’s antics as the door opened, and Natalie’s mom came into the room with a bottle of champagne, signaling they only had a short amount of time before they had to be ready to go.

Grabbing a glass as soon as it was poured, Kara turned to them. “I will be back shortly. I’m going to go check on my brothers.”

“Okay, but make sure you’re back at least ten minutes before the ceremony starts,” Maggie told her, having been put in charge.

Giving her a mock salute, Kara held her glass and pushed the door open with her back. Once she was out in the quiet hallway of the church, she took a settling breath.

She was unbelievably happy for her brother and Natalie, but she couldn’t forget the attack Astra had staged the night before. She hoped her aunt stayed away from the joyous occasion but prepared herself to defend her family—her true family—if need be.

She hadn’t told anyone but Winn about the encounter yet, so she shook her head free of the thoughts, knowing the boys would see the worry on her face if she thought about it too long.

Kara sipped from the flute in her hand as she passed the main hall, catching a glance of the photographer capturing pictures of the exquisitely decorated room. They’d taken their separate family photos, as well as the bridesmaids and groomsmen, and the only thing left were the group shots after the ceremony once Natalie had made her reveal to Will.

Arriving at the correct door, purposefully arranged across the building from the bride’s chamber, Kara used her hearing to make sure they weren’t indecent before knocking as she opened the door a few inches.

“Mind if I interrupt?”

She watched as Natalie’s father, Owen, and her brothers looked up at her with smiles on their faces. She knew they must have been telling jokes and preparing each other for the day to come.

“Auntie Kara!”

Laughing for the hundredth time that day, Kara carefully knelt and grabbed Owen in a big hug while also keeping her drink from spilling. “Well, don’t you look handsome.”

The boy’s face crinkled. “What’s that mean?”

“It means you look all grown up.” She told him as they pulled apart.

Knowing what her arrival meant, Natalie’s father chuckled and grabbed Owen’s hand. “Hey, kiddo. Why don’t we go check in on Mommy before everything starts, huh?”

As Owen nodded enthusiastically, Kara sent the man a smile. He left the room only a moment later, leaving the three Halsteads alone with thick emotion floating between them.

“So, how’s it going in here?” She asked them, smirking at the looks on their faces.

“Jay’s being a beast,” Will told her. “I hope you get hazard pay for having to put up with him on a daily basis. So much hazard pay.”

“I don’t, but I appreciate the acknowledgment.” She teased, moving forward and hugging Will. “You guys look amazing.”

Jay took his turn to embrace her and shook his head. “I don’t know about us, but you look beautiful, Kar.”

She blushed a bit and chuckled as she adjusted her glasses. “Thanks, Jay.”

Studying her carefully, Will tilted his head. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”

“I just…I can’t believe you’re actually getting married today!” She shrugged.

Jay clapped a hand on his brother’s arm. “I know, right? I still can’t believe Natalie hasn’t left you yet.”

“Yeah, well, she clearly has good taste.” Will retorted, the nerves of his upcoming nuptials clear on his face.

Moving forward, Kara grabbed his hand and squeezed it gently. “Hey, you have nothing to worry about. She’s more ready for this than anyone ever.”

Sending her a look of appreciation, he hugged her again. “This is crazy.”

“I know,” Jay told them. “Though, you guys have basically been married since you met.”

“I feel like just yesterday we were teenagers, and I was meeting you guys for the first time.” She led them over to the couch, and they sat.

She could see the distraction worked as Will’s face lit up with a smile that held many memories. “I remember you were so scared of the popcorn machine; you crawled under the kitchen table.”

“I forgot about that!” Jay’s eyes widened. “I always thought that was weird…I guess now we have that answer.”

Rolling her eyes, Kara sipped her champagne again. “Hey! I had never seen one before!” Then she sighed. “But you were so great. You crawled under with me and helped me calm down by letting me sprinkle the small crystals on it.”

“You remember that?” Will looked shocked.

She nodded. “Of course. It was the first time I felt like you guys didn’t absolutely despise me for coming in and uprooting your lives.”

“Kara…” Jay turned to her, looking pained.

Shaking her head, Kara set her glass on the table and grabbed one hand from each in her own. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just wanted you guys to know how lucky I am to have you. And I know that Natalie and Owen feel the same way.”

“Jeez, K, are you trying to make me cry?” Will chuckled, looking away to hide the emotion on his face.

“Hey, this _is_ your wedding day.” Jay reminded him. “There’s a pot to see when and who will cry first.”

This time, the redhead gaped. “Seriously? Kara, our brother’s cruel.”

Kara picked up her glass again and raised her hands in surrender as Jay laughed. “Uh-uh, Kara’s already in the pot. So, if I’m cruel, so is she.”

“I’m disappointed in both of you.” Their older brother joked. “Does Winn know about this?”

“He’s the one holding the list and the money.” The blonde winced playfully.

Using the skills only she and Clark had, she dodged the throw pillow he threw at her and laughed. “Hey, be careful! If you mess up any part of this look, it won’t be us you have to worry about. Maggie will kill you.”

Then she looked at her watch and winced again, this time in realization. “Speaking of which, I need to go because I was supposed to be back with everyone like three minutes ago.”

They stood, and Kara pulled them in for a group hug that none of them pulled away from for a bit. Then, finally, Kara separated herself and smiled at them.

“It’s almost time. You ready?”

Will nodded. “More than ever.”

“Good. I’ll see you out there.”

Then she walked out and looked around to make sure no one was watching before using her superspeed to take her back to Natalie’s prep room. Later, as the doors opened and the brunette in white stepped into the sanctuary, Kara glanced at her brother and grinned.

She loved seeing how overwhelmed he was by his about-to-be wife’s beauty and wasn’t afraid to show the tears that gathered in his eyes. Glancing out to the pews, she found Winn, who rolled his eyes but smiled, pointing at her.

Not only was she glad her brother was happy, but she’d also just won the pot against him. It was looking to be a great night, indeed.


	47. Everybody Hurts

“So, let me get this straight, you didn’t tell them about Astra and her minions attacking you last night?”

“Oh, my God, Winn! Quiet!” Kara looked around carefully as they waited for their drinks at the bar. “It’s Will and Natalie’s big day. It can wait until tomorrow, and I’ll tell Jay and Voight then.”

As wedding guests mingled around them, dancing to music or catching up with people they hadn’t seen in a while, Winn stared at his best friend. “Kara, you know they would want to know.”

“I know…” She sighed. “I’m going to tell Jay first thing in the morning. But Will and Nat have been preparing for this day practically since they met, okay? I’m going to ruin that unless I absolutely have to, and I shouldn’t have to if Astra knows what is good for her.”

As they were handed their drinks, Winn shook his head. “I’m just saying that they are going to be pissed when they find out.”

“Why?” They moved through the crowd in search of the happy couple. “I have perfectly good reasons for keeping it to myself, and it isn’t like she hurt me or anything.”

“Um, I think using Kryptonite against you counts as hurting you in their eyes.” He told her. “Mine too.”

Rolling her eyes, Kara waved at Natalie and plastered a smile on her face. “Fine, but she didn’t stab me with it or anything. I’m fine, and we will deal with it. Now, can we please just have a good time and celebrate the fact that my older brother _finally_ ended up with the girl of his dreams?”

Her friend sighed in defeat. “Fine. But if you haven’t told them by Tuesday, I’m telling them.”

“Deal.” Kara smiled and dragged him over to the bride and groom. “Ah!”

Kara and Natalie squealed and hugged tightly as the boys rolled their eyes and engaged in a ‘bro hug.’

“Congrats, you guys!” Winn was great at playing the supportive friend that had no cares in the world. “Finally married.”

“I know.” Will couldn’t keep the smile off of his face. “It seems…surreal.”

“I finally have an official sister!” Kara laughed, one arm still secured around Natalie.

“Hey! What, are Jay and I not enough?” Will teased.

“Uh, do you want to hear all about girl things, boys, et cetera?” The blonde smiled.

“How would that be any different from the last few decades?” He asked, a smirk plastered on his face.

Kara’s jaw dropped. “First of all, ew, no. Second, that never happened, so hush.”

“Well, I’m just glad to give Owen even more family.” Natalie stepped in, knowing how far the siblings could take their teasing. “He is so thrilled to have ‘Uncle Jay’ and ‘Auntie Kara’ in his life for real now.”

“We love it just as much,” Kara told her honestly, causing Winn to nod enthusiastically next to her.

“Trust me; she’s telling the truth. You should hear how much she mentions him. It’s insane.”

Smiling at the dark-haired man, Natalie sighed and let herself fall away from Kara and rest against Will’s side. “That’s just one more reason this was the best idea ever.”

“You sure about that?” Everyone turned to see Jay and Hailey coming over to them. “I can have a car out back in two minutes, and you can still split.”

Smacking him lightly at his joke, Kara shook her head. “Oh, stop it. You know they belong together. I mean, you can basically see the rainbows and hearts shooting out of their eyes.”

“And on that note, I think it’s time for a dance.” Will turned to his bride. “Shall we?”

“I think I shall.” She laughed, and he pulled her to the dance floor.

Turning to her boyfriend, Hailey set her drink on the nearest table. “I know this is out of character for me, but Jay Halstead…would you like to dance?”

Raising a brow at her, he too set his drink down. “Why Hailey, what has gotten into you?”

The detective just chuckled and led him in the same direction his brother had gone, leaving Winn and Kara alone again. They stood side by side for a few moments before Kara heard a click of someone’s tongue and turned in time to see him grab her drink and set it on the table.

“Winn, what are you doing?”

Facing her, he held his hand out. “Well, we can’t be the only ones not dancing. So, Kara…will you dance with me?”

Smiling at his antics, the Kryptonian nodded and walked with him to the dance floor. Arriving out there, they found a spot in the middle of the crowd that had gathered close enough to her brothers but far enough away that they couldn’t interrupt each other.

The friends dance for half the song before Kara raised a brow at the look on her friend’s face. “What are you thinking?”

Looking down for a second, Winn sighed and smiled lightly at her. “You just…you look really pretty tonight, Kara.”

She felt herself blush. “Thanks, Winn. That’s sweet of you to say.”

“No, I’m serious, Kara.” He was looking at her so intently, she felt her stomach drop in anxiety. “I know you think you’re just average looking or something, but you’re not. You are stunning even when you’re not flying around in the cape.

“You are the most amazing person I’ve ever met. I just…I wish you saw that the same way I do.”

Blinking in shock, Kara had no time to respond before he was leaning in and placing his lips on hers. As soon as her brain registered what had happened, she pulled away only to see Winn’s face falling.

“Um…”

He shook his head. “I am so sorry.”

“It’s okay.” She told him, still in shock.

He pulled away from her, and she felt terrible. “Winn…”

“No, I…I’m fine.” He told her. “I just need some air.”

“Winn!” She hurried after him, but as soon as they were off the dance floor, he spun on her.

“Just leave me alone, please.”

Kara froze, having never heard that request from her best friend. This was not something she was used to dealing with, and now she worried that she had really screwed things up.

* * *

Kara stood at the front of the crowd next to her friends as they watched Natalie and Will get into their limo in order to head home and change before going on their honeymoon. They both hugged their family, and when Will got to her, he sighed.

“Try not to get hurt or impaled by Kryptonite or anything while I’m gone, okay?”

She knew he was teasing her, but her smile was tight as she thought back on her conversations with Winn during the night. “I’ll do my best.”

He was too swept up in happiness to see the blatant lie and moved on to Jay. She waited, her arms wrapped around herself as they waved to the crowd, and finally drove away.

The crowd started to disperse, and Kara was finally able to spot her friend walking away. “Winn, wait!”

She watched as he came to a stop, allowing her to hurry to his side. Nearly everyone was back inside the bar by the time she did, so she wasn’t worried about anyone hearing their conversation. It was an awkward situation for both of them, but she knew she had to make things right.

“Listen, Winn-”

“Kara, I’m really sorry,” Winn told her quietly.

She shook her head. “It’s fine; it doesn’t matter.”

“Of course, it matters.” He wasn’t taking his eyes off of her again, and she knew this conversation would be like the last. “I haven’t told you much about my family, but my dad kept his feelings bottled up for years until he exploded. Because he was a coward…like me.”

“No…”

Winn continued past her protest. “Look, I know I dropped this huge bomb on our friendship when I kissed you, and I should have told you how I felt a long time ago. But I was…I was too scared to say anything; I was too scared to stand up for myself.

“Kara, I am going to tell you the truth now. I’m in love with you. I have been in love with you for a long time. Since before you were Supergirl.”

“Winn…” Kara’s eyes filled with tears. “I don’t want things to change.”

Biting his lip, Winn nodded with a sigh. “Before this whole Supergirl thing, I probably would have gone along with that. God, I just would have pretended that kiss never happened. But I don’t know if I can sit and smile and eat potstickers and pretend like it is not killing me.

“Kara, I cannot keep bottling things up. I am too afraid of what could happen.”

Looking down, the blonde tried to keep the tears from falling. “So…what does this mean for us?”

“I don’t know.” Her friend told her honestly before continuing past her.

Kara stood in silence as he walked away behind her. She couldn’t believe that this was happening. She would never have guessed that her best friend was in love with her, and now because she didn’t reciprocate those same feelings, she might have lost him forever.

Finally, letting the tears fall, she allowed herself to slump against the side of the bar as her chest heaved with sobs. Bringing her hand up to cover her mouth, she squeezed her eyes shut and felt the warm tears fall onto her hands.

All she wanted right now was for a black hole to swallow her up.

“Kara?” Jay’s voice echoed into the cool night air. “Hey, some of the guys are looking to do a shots competition, and I could really use the extra money. I figured if you got in on it…”

His voice trailed off as he approached her and saw the state she was in. She didn’t need to see his face to know he wore a concerned and on-guard expression. His whole body radiated the feeling of a protective older brother, causing Kara to change her mind.

Someone else could have that black hole. All she wanted now was her brother and a loving hug.

As Kara moved forward, instinct had Jay opening his arms and holding her close before he could register what was happening. Grabbing the back of his suit tightly in her fists, Kara allowed him to grab her glasses from her face so she could press it into his chest.

Then they stood there—confused older brother and devastated younger sister—and held each other, taking and providing comfort where necessary, hoping that whatever happened next would be easier than the things that had taken place that night.


	48. Finding Eva

Kara groaned as she typed codes into her computer. The bunker was unusually quiet for that time of day, but she welcomed it after everything that had happened.

It was two days after the wedding, and Winn still wouldn’t speak to her. Though Jay had insisted he stay with her, she sent him home with Hailey after the wedding. Instead, she sat on her balcony with a glass of wine and wondered where she’d messed up.

She wished she had seen the signs of his feelings before that night, thinking that she could have stopped the event somehow. It sent her down a long weekend of self-loathing and pain that she didn’t want to repeat.

Until he spoke to her, however, she was down a best friend.

The sound of the door opening surprised her, but she didn’t look up. She had a good feeling that Jay was coming to check on her, but as she hadn’t told him about Astra’s attack yet, she wanted to put as much space between them as possible. She knew that when he found out about the attack—and her lack of discussion on it—he would be pissed.

“Hey.” Jay waited for the door to close behind him before walking to his sister. “How are you?”

The blonde sighed. “I’m frustrated. I just want to know what Astra is up to. She’s clearly not here for peace, so what is she working so hard towards? I just…I don’t get it.”

He nodded. “I know, but we will figure it out. I was actually talking about the other thing…”

Shaking her head, Kara shoved away from the desk. “He won’t talk to me. I tried calling him like a million times, but he won’t answer. Then he sent me a text yesterday asking me to leave him alone. So I don’t know what else to do.

“I really screwed up here, Jay. You didn’t see the look on his face. He was so hurt, and I did that to him. I’m terrified I lost my best friend this weekend, and I don’t know what to do to fix it.”

Jay sighed and settled his hip on the desk. “First of all, you didn’t do anything wrong. He kissed you, and you don’t feel the same way about him. It would have been worse if you’d played along, and then he found out the truth.

“Second, all you can do right now is give him some space. He will realize exactly what I just said, and I guarantee he’ll come back as soon as he does.”

She bit her lip. “Are you sure? It was really bad, Jay…”

“Hey,” He made sure she was focused on him. “I remember that phone call, Kara. I was overseas, and you were checking in on me _again_ , and you couldn’t stop talking about your new job or the new friend you’d just made. I literally never heard you that hopeful about a friendship. I honestly don’t think I’d ever heard you mention any friend at all up until that point.

“The second I met Winn, I knew you guys were meant to be best friends. I promise you he will come back, and you guys will be fine. Trust me; I’m your older brother. Would I ever steer you wrong?”

She glared at him. “All the time!”

“Okay, well, forget about those times, and trust me now.” He told her. “I am not worried about Winn.”

Nodding, Kara leaned back in her chair. “Well, I am.”

“I know.” He desperately wanted to take her mind off of the situation. “So, tell me what you’ve found out about Astra. Has she made an appearance anywhere?”

Kara’s eyes went wide involuntarily, causing his to narrow. “Kara…”

Before he could finish his statement, both of their phones rang loudly. Confusion washed over their faces until they read the text, and all other thoughts were forgotten.

Grabbing their coats, and Kara’s laptop, they hurried out the door and ran for Jay’s car. They ran into the others along the way, and all prayed that everything would turn out okay.

_From: Voight  
911\. Antonio’s place. Now. Eva’s missing._

* * *

Kara’s brain was going a mile a minute as she sat at Antonio’s kitchen table. She had her laptop in front of her trying to locate information on his daughter, but so far, nothing was coming up. She knew she had to give it time to work, but one of their circle was missing, and she was feeling restless.

This was the type of thing even Supergirl wasn’t prepared to handle.

She looked up as Voight walked out of the girl’s bedroom, where Antonio had been holed up, and waited for more information.

Jay spoke first. “So Antonio got a call from Eva at 1:24. Then the last call from Eva’s phone was from the kidnapper at 2:21.”

“I called OCD Tech Lab and put an emergency ping on Eva’s phone,” Kara told him. “I’m good, but they’re faster, and it leaves me space to search elsewhere.”

She knew he understood what she meant when he nodded.

“Already checked all the outside doors and windows,” Ruzek added as he and Kevin came in the front door. “There’s no sign of forced entry.”

“There’s no sign of struggle outside the house either,” Kevin told them.

“No.” Everyone looked up at Antonio emerged from his daughter’s bedroom. “That’s because she never made it home.”

Kara sighed and shared a look with Kim as they took in his appearance. He looked tired and sad, but he also looked sick. She knew that whatever was happening was probably worse than a simple kidnapping.

He walked over to the counter. “She always puts her backpack right here on the kitchen counter. It’s not here, so…”

“I’m running a hack on both of your phones right now,” Kara told him. “The second I find even the slightest clue or possibility, you’ll be the first to know.”

Ruzek shook his head. “I mean, are you sure it’s not something to do with school? Maybe a boy from school?”

Kara watched the detective share a look with Voight, and the information flipped a switch in her brain. She could see the pain on his face and the way his body never stopped moving. She only hoped that they could save both Eva and Antonio before everything unraveled.

“The guy on the phone said I made a mistake.” He admitted, rubbing his arm. “That dealer we arrested last night, Paddy Carter? He wasn’t supposed to get arrested. That’s because I wasn’t at that drug house to do a buy-bust. I was there to score Oxy for me.”

He glanced at Kim, who looked away in anger at having been lied to by her partner, and waited as everyone processed what he’d said. Wanting to give him a break, Kara looked in his and Voight’s direction.

“I can hack the database and get him released.” She was ready to do it the second she was given the go-ahead. “Just say the word, and he’s out on a technical error.”

Their sergeant shook his head. “Keep that option on stand-by. I don’t think it will work now, but we may need it later.”

“I’m sorry, guys,” Antonio said immediately, and Voight put a hand on his shoulder.

The gravity of the situation now weighed heavily on all of them, and a bit later, as they all filed out of the apartment, Kara hung back and stopped him.

“Kara, I know I screwed up, but-”

She interrupted him by pulling him into a hug. “Hey, stop that. You made a mistake, but it’s not like the rest of us haven’t. And God knows we all have our secrets. But we’ll find her, Antonio. I promise you, even if we hit all the walls and dead ends in the world, Eva’s coming home. I’ll do it myself if I have to.”

“How can you promise that in our line of work?” He looked distraught.

Kara sighed. “Just…trust me?” He looked unconvinced. “Antonio. Trust me. You know how skilled I am. I haven’t even brushed the surface of what I can do.”

He nodded, and they followed their team outside. Kara caught Voight’s eye in the doorway, and a million words passed between them in that one silent second.

Secret identity be damned. If she had to, she’d shout her secret from the rooftops in order to bring the girl home. She could only hope it would help.


	49. Off the Books

Everything that could go wrong seemed to as the team searching for information on Antonio’s missing daughter. Their current dealers weren’t talking, even in the cage, and they were having trouble keeping Antonio away from them. She’d also tried to call Clark for help, but Lois informed her he was off-world and couldn’t be reached at the moment.

Kara couldn’t even imagine what it was like to have your child go missing and hoped she’d never have to deal with this type of tragedy if she ever had her own family. She didn’t think she’d be able to handle it.

Sitting in the precinct’s tech room with Kim, Ruzek, and Kevin gave Kara time to run as many hacks as she could think of running. She’d wanted to text Winn and get his help on it, but she knew that not only did he not want to hear from her, he’d be fired if Cat got wind of his hacking on work soil.

Instead, she’d simply texted him, ‘ _Antonio’s daughter was kidnapped. If you hear anything at all, please let us know’_ and hoped he would at least read it and call someone if the magazine got wind of anything regarding the case.

As she didn’t have her inside man in the media, it fell to her to use every technical skill she could think of to find the girl. Some of the ways weren’t necessarily legal, but she figured Voight could talk his way out of that one if they were ever called on it. Right now, they focused on finding Eva.

“Dammit.” She had hit another wall. “I really hate it when people pull an ‘olden days routine’ and stay off the internet. It makes my job so much harder.”

Kevin nodded. “I can’t imagine how they did this before we had social media and stuff.”

“Must have been a nightmare.” Ruzek agreed with his partner.

Kim sighed. “This is bad, guys. What if we can’t find her?”

“We will,” Kara said immediately. “We have to; there is no other option. Losing your family is something I don’t want anyone else to understand.”

As they all glanced at her, she knew they thought she was referring to the apartment fire that killed her father. They weren’t altogether wrong, but she had also been thinking about her parents and Krypton. The images of that destruction had been haunting her since they’d received the phone call that started this case.

“What do we got?”

They all looked up as Voight walked in the room with Antonio, and Kim handed them a list. “Kara pinged Eva’s phone. It was recovered on the median of I-94 near the Damen underpass. I guess he tossed it out the window. Unfortunately, the nearest camera is two mile markers up the highway.”

“Prints?”

“Not yet,” she told him. “but we did hand-deliver it to the lab, so-”

“What about the hacks?” Voight interrupted her and looked over to Kara. “Have you found anything on the net?”

The blonde shook her head sadly. “Nothing, which is crazy unusual. I’ve run almost every search I can think of, and there isn’t one thing that stands out. They’re laying low, and they’re good at it. It’s driving me crazy, but I won’t stop until I find something. Everyone surfaces at some point, so it’s only a matter of time.”

Before anyone could speak again, Hailey and Jay stormed into the room. They looked both hopeful and distressed, which meant whatever they had was helpful but scary.

She knew her brother’s expressions pretty well, and the one he wore she’d only seen a handful of times. It signaled pain and sadness, something she had hoped they wouldn’t have to deal with for much longer.

“We pulled surveillance from an apartment two blocks from Antonio’s house. It matches the timeline of the kidnapping.”

Hailey sat and quickly pulled up the video, playing it for everyone to see. Then she turned to Antonio. “Are you sure you want to see this?”

He nodded. “Play it.”

It was horrible.

The team watched as Eva struggled against the grip of a man who tried to shove her further into the alleyway towards a car with its trunk open. When she put up a good fight, he got frustrated and punched her. This sent her to the ground, leaving the man with enough leverage to shove her into the trunk and slam it closed. Then he moved away from the car, and Kevin pointed to the screen.

“Right there. Should be able to pull the plate.” He suggested.

As the picture popped up, Antonio turned to them. “Run that plate.”

“Already done.” Thanks to her superspeed, Kara had finished the task before Kevin had finished his thought. “Vehicle’s registered to a Jason Rizzo.”

She moved so he could see the screen, and Voight looked at his friend. “Antonio, you recognize this guy?”

“He looks familiar.” The detective tried to place his face. “I think he might have worked with Carter.”

“He’s got two priors for possession, one for aggravated battery, and…” Kim trailed off, sharing a glance with Kara. “he did two years in Stateville for statutory rape.”

Seeing the look on Antonio’s face, Kara stood and hugged her arms around herself. This was every parent’s—every woman’s—worst nightmare come true, and she didn’t even want to think about what Eva was going through at that moment.

As it was, the images replaced those of Krypton in her brain and wouldn’t go away.

She hugged herself, deep in thought, and stayed quiet as Ruzek spoke. “Address is in Uptown. 804 Christopher.”

“Alright, listen up,” Voight commanded the room, looking at each person. “Before we make our first move, I’m gonna make something crystal clear. From this moment on, we are off the books. You want to walk, walk now. No one’s gonna judge you.”

As his eyes swept over the room, they landed on Kara, who nodded. “I can get there faster.”

“You’d have eyes on the place in case anything happened.”

“I could leave right now. Just say the word.”

“How? What?” Antonio was confused by their seemingly private—yet very public—conversation.

“I did say I’d tried _almost_ every way of searching. This was the only one I hadn’t tried yet.” She reminded him. “I think it’s time.”

“You sure about this?” Voight’s gruff voice traveled over the confused group and focused solely on his techie. “There’s no turning back from this.”

“She’s family.” The blonde shrugged. “I am if you are.”

The sergeant nodded to her. “Well, then, this is where Kara leaves.”

“Wait, what?” Antonio looked at her. “What happened to you bringing her home personally if you had to?”

“I meant what I said, Antonio.” She sighed and, after a glance at Jay, pulled off her glasses. “But I can’t do that as Kara.”

Then she ripped open her shirt and let the team take in this new information.

“Kara…” Antonio’s words got caught in his throat as he realized what this meant.

“I don’t care what you think of me after this, but right now, we focus on bringing Eva home,” Kara told them. “For now, you will have to get over the fact that I lied to you and save it for later. Once she’s home safe, we can talk.”

“Like I said,” Voight told them. “Off the books.”

The room was silent as they stared at the S on her chest. Then she looked at Jay, who nodded.

“Let’s go get Eva.”


	50. Proof of Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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Kara let the wind blow through her hair as she hovered above Rizzo’s house and waited for the team to approach. She prayed that they would find Eva inside, but something in her gut told her it wouldn’t be that easy.

 _“Supergirl, you got eyes?”_ Voight’s voice entered her ear through the comm.

Focusing on the building, she used her vision to look inside. “I can see one person inside for sure, but there’s gaps in what I can see. There’s lead everywhere, and I can’t see through that.”

_“Get ready to back us up.”_

Even though they couldn’t see her, she nodded and watched as they breached the front door. Continuing to use her x-ray vision, she followed the team as best she could around the gaps in her vision, watching as they walked through the house and around the outside perimeter. She managed to find Jay as he walked towards the back door and flew closer to the house.

“Jay, someone’s in that bedroom.” She told him through the comm. “He looks unarmed but be careful.”

Inside the house, Jay glanced at Kevin before kicking the door open and running into the room. “Show me your hands!”

“Okay, okay, okay!” The man shouted back, hands raised in the air. “Who are you? What do you want?”

“Get up!” Kevin told him.

“Okay!”

“Come here, come here…” Antonio entered the room. “Where’s Rizzo?”

The man was panicking. “Uh, he’s not here.”

“Where is he?”

“I don’t know, I swear!” He shouted again.

Jay lowered his weapon. “Why were you hiding?”

“Because I’m scared of Rizzo!” The man gasped out. “He’s an addict. I’ve been trying to kick him out for a month, but he won’t leave!”

“When’s the last time you seen him?” Antonio questioned him.

“About an hour ago.” He was starting to calm down. “I told him that I was gonna change the locks, and he said that he’d kill me.”

“Was he with anybody?”

“I don’t know.” The scared man said honestly. “Whenever he’s around, I stay in here with the door locked.”

Jay watched as the worried father left the room before turning to the man again. “Sit down, shut up. Don’t move.”

* * *

Upstairs in the attic, Antonio tore through the objects he found in search of any clue on his daughter. His thoughts were becoming very dark every moment that they didn’t find her, and he prayed that they would find her alive. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to live with himself if they didn’t.

Then he shoved the bed aside, found a bottle of pills hidden under one of the sheets, and paused. He was torn on what to do; as much as he tried to keep his thoughts on Eva, he couldn’t stop the addiction side of his brain from longing for the drugs.

Luckily, he was stopped as soon as he picked them up by the sound of someone on the stairs.

“Antonio?” Turning, he saw Kara watching him carefully. “There’s something in the garage we need you to take a look at.”

The alien held her breath as she watched her friend struggle for a moment before following her downstairs. As she led him towards the garage, she prayed that he could keep his cool as they continued the case.

Walking inside, Antonio moved to close the gap between himself and the team as they looked at a backpack covered in blood. “It’s Eva’s.”

Kara’s heart fell, and looked at Ruzek to continue his comments. He nodded and obliged her silent request.

“So along with the backpack, we found, uh, zip ties, duct tape.” He sighed. “Standard kidnap kit.”

Kevin cleared his throat. “The blood on the bag is fresh.”

“Okay, so that means that Eva was just here,” Voight assured them. “So, let’s hit the streets; find some witnesses. Kara, you take the skies and do a fly-over; see if you can pick up on a trail. They can’t have gotten far.”

“I’m on it.” She told him and went to push off from the ground when Antonio’s phone rang.

The team froze, waiting as he answered and set it to speakerphone. “Dawson…hey. Who am I talking to?”

_“You’re talking to the guy who’s gonna put a bullet in your daughter’s head if Paddy Carter don’t walk.”_

“I’m working on it,” Antonio told him. “My techie friend is on it, but it’s…it’s gonna take a little longer.”

 _“You got four hours, Detective.”_ The man told him.

Antonio shook his head. “Don’t…don’t hang up. I need proof of life.”

Kara’s heart shattered as he spoke, and she unconsciously moved closer to her brother.

_“What’s that mean?”_

“I need to know my daughter’s alive.”

_“No, you need to release Paddy Carter.”_

“No, I need to know my daughter’s alive,” Antonio told him. “If I don’t hear her voice, then you got no deal!”

 _“Daddy, please help me! Help me!”_ Eva’s voice came through the phone before there was a loud slap, and the man told her to shut up. _“Let me go!”_

Kara felt tears come into her eyes and looked down when Jay linked his hand with hers.

“Sweetie, don’t worry,” Antonio told his daughter.

_“Dad!”_

“I’m coming for you.” He promised her.

_“Help! Help me!”_

“You just be strong.”

Now Rizzo was back on the phone. “ _Shut up! You got four hours, Detective, or I kill her.”_

The team watched as Antonio begged into the phone for a deal, knowing Rizzo had already hung up. Voight moved to console the panicked father.

“New plan. Trace the call on Antonio’s phone.” He told them. “Hit the streets. We’re gonna find some witnesses. Let’s go.” Then he looked at Kara. “Meet me back at the district. I have an idea.”

Looking at her brother in worry, Kara nodded and shot into the sky, leaving her team below her.

“Come on, Eva,” Kara whispered to herself. “give something…anything.”


	51. Interrogating Paddy

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Paddy Carter was sitting alone in the cage when the door to the roundup opened and revealed Kevin, Ruzek, and Voight. After instructing Ruzek and Kevin to keep Antonio away from there, the sergeant moved to the cage and opened it.

“Hey, where’s my lawyer?” Paddy wondered.

However, Voight wasn’t in the mood for questions when their inmate wasn’t giving him answers either. “Jason Rizzo is your cousin!”

“So?”

“So, he kidnapped Eva Dawson,” Voight informed him.

“Wait, what the hell are you talking-”

Voight shoved him, causing Paddy to fall onto the bench and hit the brick wall behind him. “You told him to kidnap Dawson’s daughter!”

“No, I didn’t, I swear!” He begged, but Voight just grabbed him by the hair. “Ow!”

“His only ask was that you walk. Why would he do that on his own?” Voight challenged him.

Paddy panted in pain. “Because he’s an idiot and an addict, and every time I try to help him out, it bites me in the ass.”

“How does Rizzo know Antonio?”

“Because he’s been helping me out lately,” Paddy admitted. “Okay, he knows the deal that I have with Antonio. He delivered a package to his house last week. Look, he probably only wants me out to get more drugs. He doesn’t think right in the head, this kid.”

“Where is he?” Voight asked.

“I don’t know,” Paddy replied. “All I can tell you is if you don’t do what this monster says, he’ll kill her.”

Stepping back from the man, Voight paused. “Okay, everybody out.”

“Wait, what?” Ruzek looked confused. “Why?”

“Leave the door open.”

Ruzek glanced at Kevin, who shrugged, and they followed their boss out of the room. Paddy looked around, confused as well, before standing and hurrying to the cage’s open door.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

He froze in his spot, looking around the empty room for the voice. “Who’s there?”

Then his eyes landed on the blonde woman exiting the tech room. Kara simply smiled and bit into the apple she was holding. “Hi, Paddy.”

“You…you’re her!” Paddy cried, shuffling backward into the cage. “But…you only handle alien cases.”

“Actually, that isn’t true.” She told him and moved closer to his ‘cell.’ “It’s especially not true when a case involves someone I care about, so…I’d start talking if I were you.”

“You can’t do anything to me.” His voice quivered in fear. “I have rights.”

“Yeah, see, I didn’t take any such oath, so technically those don’t apply to me.” She shrugged. “Also, there aren’t any cameras down here, and even if there were, I’d just fry them anyway.”

“But…but…I told the sergeant. I don’t know anything.”

Kara bit into her apple again. “Yeah, I heard that whole conversation. I have to say; I don’t believe you.”

“But I’m telling you the truth!”

Rolling her eyes, Kara bit into her apple one more time before throwing it at superspeed. It landed on its intended target, Paddy’s nose, and the man screamed in pain.

“What the hell?” He held his face as blood poured through his fingers. “I thought Supergirl was supposed to be nice and help people! Not hurt them.”

The blonde shrugged again, crossing her arms over her chest. “Yeah, well, some people just suck the fucking nice right out of you. Now…”

Kara blasted the now-bloodied apple on the ground using her heat vision until it had turned to ash. “You have three seconds to tell me something that helps me find Rizzo, or you’re not going to like the newest cell we put you in.”

“How could it be any worse than this?” He shouted, causing Kara to laugh.

She lifted her hand and gestured to the wall behind him. “Do you have any idea what’s on the other side of those bricks? No? That would be our alien bunker. We keep all those aliens we catch in there until they can be transferred. I’ve got a really nice cell waiting for you right next to an alien that eats human skin to help him transform. I’m sure it will be a great experience; you’ll love it.”

Paddy’s face turned pale. “Okay! Okay! There’s a…there’s a guy. His name’s Gary. He’s got a scrap yard out in Cicero. They like to go out there to get drunk and get high.”

“That’s all you can give me?” She wondered, raising a brow. “Nothing else?”

“No, nothing.” He said weakly, his hand still covering his face. “They find Dawson’s daughter; that mean I get released?”

Slamming the door on him, Kara glared. “It means you might get to live.”

Then she walked over to the door and opened it, finding Ruzek and Kevin still on the other side. “A guy named Gary; friend of Rizzo. Owns some scrapyard in Cicero.”

As Ruzek walked away to get a location, Kevin glanced at Paddy in the cage. “Why’s he bleeding?”

“Because he’s an idiot.” She told him as they went up to their bullpen.

“I didn’t know that idiocy caused people to just start spontaneously bleeding from the nose.” He said with a smirk.

The blonde gave him a look of indifference. “I think It’s a new phenomenon.”

* * *

At the junkyard, Ruzek walked up to their man with Kevin, Jay, and Hailey following him. “You Gary McCoy?”

The guy continued to walk through the lot while looking at them. “Yeah?”

“When was the last time you talked to your friend, Jason Rizzo?” Hailey asked as Jay, and the others looked around for any sign of their kidnapper.

“None of your business.” He told them.

Hailey shook her head. “That’s the wrong answer.”

“I’m gonna look around over here,” Ruzek told her and Jay as they continued to question the man.

“You talk to him today?”

“You got a warrant or something?” He asked them.

Jay shook his head. “I don’t need a warrant to ask you questions.”

“Questions about a kidnapping,” Hailey added. “What do you know about that?”

“I fix cars, and I drink beer.” He told them, hoping that would be enough.

“Yo, check this out!” Kevin yelled from his search with Ruzek. “Rizzo’s car is back here!”

“Oh, you’d better start talking fast, ‘cause things are gonna go bad.” Hailey shrugged.

“Go bad?” McCoy raised his brow. “The hell are you gonna do about it?”

Behind them came the sound of metal being crushed, and the group turned to see that Supergirl had landed on a perfectly restored car. Then she lifted it and flew into the air, dropping it so that it became destroyed.

Landing next to her brother, Kara gave a faux wince. “Ooh…I wonder how much that will cost you to fix back up.”

“What the hell?”

“You better start talking because I can do that all day.” The superhero told him.

Ruzek walked up to stand next to Hailey. “Rizzo switched out his car here. What’d you give him, Gary?”

“Make and model.” Kevin detailed, waiting for the response.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He tried again.

Then he walked past Kara, who sighed and grabbed his arm. “You’re not going anywhere.”

“Do not grab me, alien freak.” He turned and shoved her, causing the group to jump forward.

Before they could act, however, Kara grabbed his wrist and spun it behind his back. “You ever touch me again, I will rip off your arm and beat you to death with it, you understand?”

He nodded in fear, and she continued. “We’re talking about a kidnapping here, Gary. That’s life in prison for Rizzo and for you if you don’t cooperate. Now, what car did you give Rizzo?

He groaned before giving them the information they needed. Satisfied with his response, she held him a second longer before releasing him so that Ruzek and Kevin could arrest him for trying to hide key information in the case.

As they walked away, Jay and Hailey turned to her. “Well, that was dark.”

She shrugged. “Desperate times…”

He nodded. “We’ll meet you back at HQ.”

This time Kara shook her head. “I’m going to do a fly-over. I’ll have my comm, so let me know if there are any updates.”

Then she stepped back and was gone.


	52. Ending the Case

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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While the team worked on locating the new car that Rizzo was using, Kara flew over the city in hopes of finding either it or Eva. She couldn’t believe that it had only been one day since they’d started the case, as it felt like an entire week had passed.

She’d also threatened to kill more than one person in that amount of time—which was unusual for her—and felt only a little sick about it. She knew she’d be having a conversation with her mother when they found Eva and could only hope that it would help calm her ever-growing nerves.

“When this is all over, I want my sanity back.” She said aloud to herself as she flew over buildings and houses at a rate that would make another person dizzy.

She had almost finished her second lap of the city when she heard a woman shout at her from a second-story window. Flying down to face her, Kara furrowed her brow.

“I’m sorry to bother you, miss.” The older woman fidgeted in her worry.

“It’s okay,” Kara told her calmly. “What’s going on?”

She pointed to the motel across the alley. “The man in that building…he came here earlier today. I didn’t think anything was wrong until he pulled the girl out of the car. She looked hurt. I’m sorry, I tried calling the police, but they said that was normal for that place…”

Turning, Kara saw the car they were looking for on the street and nodded. “No, you did the right thing. Thank you so much.”

The woman waved her away, and Kara flew closer to the motel. “Guys, I have eyes on our car.”

She rattled off the address of her location, and though she wanted to bust right in, she followed Voight’s instructions to stay put and wait for them.

* * *

“Rizzo’s in Room 201,” Kara told the group as they arrived, having asked the woman again for more information.

Voight nodded and gathered them. “Okay, listen up. We’re moving in fast and dark. This offender is armed and dangerous, so you all have a green light.” He turned to Kara. “That goes for you, too. Light the guy up if you have to.”

She nodded, knowing she would do whatever she had to do to bring Eva home.

“Let’s hit it.” He told them. “Antonio. I need you to hang back, bro.”

“Hank, there’s nothing you can do or say right now that’s gonna keep me from going in there.” The detective told him. “I’m going in first.”

Then he walked away and moved to the front door where Kara waited for Kevin's signal before cutting through the lock with her heat vision. As the team rushed into the building, Kara sped up the stairs and entered Room 201, which was covered in graffiti and other disheveled ruins. It looked to be abandoned, so she swept the place using her vision.

When they reached a closed door, she pushed further and hissed in a breath before moving toward it. Voight and Antonio walked up, guns drawn, but Kara shook her head. “There’s no need. It’s only her.”

Looking at her sadly as he realized what she meant, Antonio burst through the door and crashed to his knees next to the mattress that held his injured daughter. “Sweetie?”

“She’s alive,” Kara told him. “I can hear her heart beating.”

Then she watched the painful reunion unfold in front of her as the rest of the team swept the place.

“It’s Daddy. It’s Daddy.” Antonio told his daughter. “I’m here. I’m here. Can you hear me?”

They could hear her soft cries, and Kara waited as she nodded slowly before moving to them and kneeling and gesturing to the tape on her face so that Antonio could see her intentions.

“Honey?” His voice shook. “I have Supergirl here. She’s going to get the tape off your mouth, okay?”

“Hi, Eva.” Kara made sure her voice was quiet and didn’t shake. “Don’t worry; I won’t let the heat touch you, okay?”

She waited until Antonio nodded before focusing her heat vision on the duct tape just enough so that it cut the binding but didn’t hit the girl’s face. Then she gently pulled it away from her mouth and stepped back, handing it to Kim, who stood in the doorway with Voight.

The sergeant made eye contact with her as she did so before turning to grab his radio. “50-21 roll an ambulance to 1900 Fisher now.”

_“Copy that.”_

Then he turned back and watched as the horror-struck father tried to console his baby girl.

* * *

“You’re gonna be okay. You’re safe now. Just stay strong, sweetie. I’m gonna take care of you.”

Antonio followed the EMTs and Eva out of the building before climbing into the ambulance bound for Med. The team gathered as they watched it leave, waiting for Voight to give them further instructions.

So far, they still hadn’t found their guy, and it was pissing them off.

“Rizzo is still in the wind.” He told them angrily.

“Yeah, but his truck’s still here.” Kim shrugged.

Jay sighed. “You, maybe he got spooked when we rolled in and took off on foot.”

“He may have seen Kara out here before we arrived.” Ruzek shrugged at the look Jay sent him. “I mean, she doesn’t exactly scream ‘subtle’ in that suit.”

“Alright, so let’s fan out.” Their boss told them. “Talk to witnesses, look for cameras, do whatever we gotta do.”

 _“No need.”_ Kara’s voice came through the comms. _“I’ve got eyes on Rizzo.”_

After they had found Eva, Voight had sent Kara away to search the city again. However, this time, he wanted her to look for any sign of Rizzo’s voice or anyone who spoke his name. She had only been gone about fifteen minutes when she’d finally found him.

“Supergirl, what’s your 20?” He barked into the comm, and they waited for her to respond.

 _“We’re at the old factory by your location.”_ She told them. _“He’s inside. He knows I’m here.”_

“Supergirl, I want you to hold your position. If he flees, you grab him; otherwise, you wait for us, you understand me?”

_“One hundred percent.”_

“Okay, you heard her. Let’s get over there.”

* * *

Voight sighed as he and Ruzek pulled into the lot attached to the old factory. As they stepped out of the car, he looked up and saw Kara hovering above them, her eyes trained on the building.

He knew she was using her x-ray vision to keep tabs on Rizzo and grabbed his gun. “Supergirl, you still have got eyes?”

He saw her nod as her voice came through the comms. _“Yeah, he’s still in there. Just waiting. He’s confused by my non-approach.”_

“Stay out here.” He told her as they rushed to the door. “Watch the perimeter.”

They entered the building, and the second Rizzo saw them, he ran. They pursued him as he ran up the stairs and became frustrated.

“Stop running!” Ruzek yelled to him, but the man ignored him.

They chased him up a few more stairs until he panicked, and Adam was able to tackle him to the ground. “Put ‘em down!”

“Get off me!” Rizzo yelled, trying to fight the cop. “Get off of me!”

_“Voight, Antonio’s here.”_

“Hey!” Voight strode over to them and pressed his gun to Rizzo’s head. “Make a move. Please.”

Rizzo laughed. “Come on; you won’t do it.”

“Then move,” Voight suggested.

“Come on; I want you to do it!”

“Reach for something.”

“Hey!”

Turning, they saw Antonio run into the room, and Voight moved to stop him as Ruzek hauled Rizzo off the ground. “What are you doing? We got this.”

“Is that why you have Kara outside?” The distraught man asked. “Just give me five minutes with him.”

“No, Antonio.”

“Five minutes,” Antonio begged.

With a deep sigh, the older man held out his hand. “Give me your gun. Adam.”

As Ruzek let the offender go, Antonio pounced. Rizzo egged him on, but the ex-boxer turned Intelligence detective had no time to deal with his taunts. He swung punch after punch at the man until Voight had to physically pull him off before he killed him.

“How old is Eva anyway?” Rizzo asked as he stood. “She eighteen yet? She was good.”

Blinded by the rage any father would have in that situation, Antonio pushed past his boss and shoved the man, sending him through the wooden planks behind him and sailing out the broken window they covered up.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.” Ruzek was in shock as they ran to the window to see Rizzo’s broken body on the ground.

Instead, they found him sprawled out on top of Kara’s body, which had cushioned him from hitting the concrete.

Shoving him off of her, Kara stood. “Ugh, get up, you piece of shit.”

Then she looked up and nodded at Voight.


	53. Back to the Alien Business

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It had been about a week since they found Eva, and everything seemed to be going back to normal. While Antonio hadn’t had the easiest of times, he was grateful to have his team backing him up. That team, they now knew, had included Supergirl long before she’d been created.

_The blonde Kryptonian waited as Ruzek, Voight, and Antonio emerged from the old factory, shaking from the events that had just happened. She knew Antonio hadn’t meant to shove Rizzo out the window, but she was still glad she was able to stop him from being killed, as that would have been another horrible thing they had to deal with._

_“Good save.” Ruzek shook his head._

_She shrugged and looked down at the pitiful man. “Yeah, well, I only did it for Antonio. Otherwise, I might have been tempted to let him go ‘splat.’”_

_Voight sighed. “Drive back to the district with Antonio. Adam and I will deal with this and meet you back there. Don’t let him do anything stupid.”_

_As Antonio tried to cover for himself, Kara nodded. “I will pick up the car and fly it back with him inside if I have to.”_

_Knowing that was handled, Voight turned away, and Kara pulled Antonio away from them. They were silent as they moved towards his car, and it was only once they were on the road that Kara spoke to him._

_“How’s Eva?”_

_Gripping the wheel tightly in his hands, Antonio sighed. “She’ll be fine…eventually.”_

_Kara nodded. “I’m sorry about what happened.”_

_Not wanting to talk about it anymore, he focused back on the road. “Thank you for doing what you did.”_

_“No matter what crazy shit you have going on in your personal life, you’re a good guy, Antonio. I wasn’t about to let you murder a man.”_

_“Well, thanks, but I meant about you telling us who you are.”_

_Looking down at her family’s crest on her chest, she shook her head. “I told you that I had barely brushed the surface of what I was capable of, remember? This is what I meant. I had to let the usual channels run their course, but the second I knew they wouldn’t work, I knew it was time.”_

_“Why didn’t you tell us before?” She knew he was equally interested and also looking for a distraction._

_Shifting in her seat, she sighed. “I had to be careful with who I told. My brothers didn’t even know who I really was until we had that case with Vartox.”_

_“When you saved Jay.” The detective realized. “Would you really have kept yourself from this if that hadn’t happened?”_

_She paused for a second before replying. “My cousin, while praised by most, has also received some hate. Like I told Voight when he found out, I never really lied to you when you guys interrogated me._

_“When I landed here, it was vital that I keep my powers a secret. For one, I didn’t know how to control them yet. For another, I was just a child. Besides, the world already had my cousin; did they really need me? My parents made me promise not to tell anyone until we were ready._

_“We didn’t even tell Jay or Will.” At her admission, Antonio glanced at her with shock on his face. “Yeah, I know. He and I were fighting around that time if you remember. It’s because once I used my powers for the first time in a long time, I realized that I was meant for more than just desk work. He didn’t agree with me—yet.”_

_“Whoa. Talk about family drama.”_

_She nodded again. “Thankfully, he came to his senses, but it’s still so dangerous. If anyone who we couldn’t trust found out who I really was…”_

_“I get it.”_

_“Please don’t think that I don’t trust you guys. I never would have shown you the truth today if I didn’t believe I could trust you. I just needed to take my time with it. Today it hit me that I should have told you all sooner._

_“But Eva is family. So, I don’t regret what I did in any capacity.”_

_“You, Kara, are one of a kind.”_

_“Two,” she told him and chuckled. “Myself and Kal.”_

_“Okay, okay…”_

She’d gotten lucky that the rest of the team was as understanding as he was regarding her secret, and they were able to move on pretty quickly.

Now that that was over, however, Kara felt it was time to fess up on other events that had happened. Namely, Astra and her cohorts.

“Everybody, listen up.” Voight’s voice bellowed into the bullpen, bringing everyone to attention, as Kara followed him out of his office with a frown on her face.

Jay stood when he saw her. “What going on?”

“Is everything okay?” Kim wondered, also seeing how distressed her friend looked.

When Voight gestured to Kara, the blonde sighed. “Astra is back, and she’s up to something.”

“What happened?” Jay asked her.

“She and two of her cronies attacked me and tried to convince me to join them.”

“When was this?” Hailey wondered.

Kara winced. “The night before Will’s wedding.”

“Are you kidding me?” Jay’s voice echoed in the quiet room. “Why the hell didn’t you say anything?”

“I was going to tell you after the wedding, but then that whole thing with Winn happened, and then Eva, and then Will and Nat came home…”

“My God, Kara, you could have been killed.” He told her but stopped when Voight interrupted him.

“She knows it was wrong, but she is telling us now.” He told her protective brother. “Let’s let her continue.”

“Thanks.” She shrugged. “She really just wants me to remember our familial relationship and join whatever it is they are planning. She also has a way to block the Kryptonite, so that’s a no go.”

“Do you know what she’s up to?” Kevin asked from across the room.

She sighed. “Unfortunately, no. All I was ever told was that she and my mother were fighting because of my aunt’s involvement in some destruction to government buildings. Other than that, as you know, I didn’t even know she’d been imprisoned until she kidnapped Jay.”

“Wait, so she can stop the Kryptonite?” Ruzek looked confused. “How is that possible?”

“That’s more awesome news,” Kara told him sarcastically. “She has created a suit that makes her invulnerable to it.”

“That changes the game.” Antonio sighed, resting a hip on the side of his desk. “Why’d she attack you after all this time?”

“Like I said, she’s recruiting me for her crazy cause, whatever it is.” She crossed her arms over her chest and went to sit at her desk. “She said Earth needs both of us. But according to the AI of my mother, Astra’s not a good person, so…”

“She wants you off the board.” Hailey guessed.

Voight shook his head. “This could be the beginning of what we’ve feared since we learned of Fort Rozz being on Earth; a city-wide attack.”

“I’ll head out now,” Kara told him, but as she left the room, Jay followed her.

“Hey, wait up.”

Turning, she looked at him, puzzled. “Look, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you guys…”

He shook his head. “No, no. You were right. We had a lot going on, and it’s not like we’ve really had any time to talk.”

“Oh,” she let out a relieved sigh. “so…what’s up?”

He hesitated before putting his hands on his hips. “I think you should let us handle Astra.”

Now Kara rolled her eyes. “Don’t give me that line you’ve been giving me for months.”

“This isn’t about being ready.” He assured her, knowing that is what she thought he meant. “Astra is your family. And I think, deep down, whether you want to admit it or not, you still care about her.”

“I don’t.” She tried, but he interrupted her.

“Kara, this is war.” He was more forceful this time. “And to win a war, sometimes the enemy has to die. Now, can you look me in the eye and tell me that you’re prepared to kill? Not walk someone into a bullet or threaten it, but actually kill?”

“Superman doesn’t kill.” She reminded him.

He looked at the floor sadly. “If that’s your answer, then you shouldn’t fight her.”

“Jay, it won’t come to that.”

“She has already shown that she’s ready to kill you.” He pointed out. “You have to be ready to do the same. What do you remember about her? What are you holding on to?”

“Nothing.” She told him, her face falling. “It…it’s gone.”

She stared at him for a moment before turning and walking away. A moment later, the sound of mechanical gears told him that she’d gone into the bunker instead of leaving.

He’d won that round, at least. Now, he hoped his words never came true.


	54. Kara vs. Astra

At their hidden base, Astra held a small device in her hand. She was so lost in thought; she didn’t hear anyone come up behind her.

“You didn’t kill her.”

Flinching in shock, Astra concealed the device in her palm and waited.

“You swore to me Alura’s daughter would convert to our cause or die.” The man said again. “It’s not like you to fail to keep a promise.”

Astra turned to face him. “I told you, she’s stronger than we thought.”

“Was it her strength or your weakness?” He questioned.

The General’s face went dark. “You owe Alura nothing. Certainly not her daughter’s life.”

“Kara is nothing like her mother.” Astra insisted. “She can be made to see reason.”

“I sometimes wonder if any of the women in your family can.”

Raising a brow, Astra stepped towards him. “You forget yourself, Lieutenant. I am your General.”

“I have sworn my allegiance to you in every way possible.” He reminded her. “I obey your orders and your heart. If you cannot bring yourself to kill her, there is no shame, and I do not judge. But let me end her and be done with it.”

“Do not question my resolve, Non,” Astra told him. “I will see this through. I will die before I allow another world to end when I could save it.”

“If you die, she dies,” Non promised. “And I always keep my promises, wife.”

…

Kara sat at her desk and pretended to click buttons on her computer while everyone searched for her aunt. In reality, she couldn’t help but remember every good memory she had with her and how the woman’s current murderous spree was slowly overshadowing that.

_Kara sat in her bedroom with a device in her hand, sadly looking at the doorway. She’d pressed it a while ago and was beginning to think she would never get an answer._

_“Kara.”_

_Looking up, the girl smiled. “Aunt Astra! You got my message!”_

_Hugging the girl that ran to her, Astra smiled. “I would never lose track of my spy beacon.”_

_Pressing them together, they shared a moment of bonding before Kara questioned her. “Where have you been? Mother said you were never coming back. Are you in trouble?”_

_Astra looked at her as if in pain. “We all are, little one.”_

_“Why? Tell me. No one else will tell me.”_

_“Krypton is dying,” Astra informed her. “Our core is unstable. It has been for a long time because of how we’ve harnessed it for power. We became greedy. And now the oceans have changed, and the weather…_

_“I’m trying to get people to stop and see what they’re doing, and in doing so, I’ve had to do some difficult things.”_

_“Is that why Mother won’t say your name anymore?” Kara wondered._

_Astra looked shocked at first and then sad. “I would do anything to save us…to save you, Kara. But it isn’t safe here for me anymore. I have to go away again. But I didn’t wanna leave without saying goodbye.”_

_As her aunt hugged her, Kara felt tears come to her eyes. “Please don’t leave.”_

_“I couldn’t love a daughter more than if Rao had granted me a child of my own.” Astra held in a sob as she tightened her arms around her niece._

_Then she stiffened, and when Kara turned, she saw her mother standing in the doorway._

_“Kara, leave us.”_

_“Mother…”_

_“Now, Kara.” Her mother left no room for argument._

Kara was shaken out of her memory when she heard hurried footsteps on the stairs and looked to see Platt racing into their bullpen. “Have you guys turned on the television at all?”

The blonde watched as Ruzek did as she said and stood when she saw what was being broadcasted on every station.

 _“An unknown woman is hovering over Chicago Med with, it seems, the same powers as Supergirl.”_ The team watched as the camera zoomed in, and they got a perfect look at Astra. _“Does she mean us harm? Should we be concerned?”_

As she moved to walk around her desk, Jay walked towards her. “She’s calling you out, Kara. You don’t have to go.”

She sent him a pained look. “You know that I do.”

…

Inside the hospital, Will watched from the ED doors as Astra hovered above them. He felt people walk up next to him and knew one of them was Natalie when she gripped his hand in hers. “Is that…”

He nodded. “Astra. It has to be. From what Jay told me, she’s Alura’s twin, so that would make sense.”

“Alura?” Ethan was standing behind them.

“Kara’s mom.” He told his friend. “They’re identical.”

“How do you know that?” The male doctor questioned.

Will sighed. “Uh…I’ve seen her. Twice. Intelligence has some of Kara’s stuff from when she landed. Thanks to an artificial intelligence thing from her pod, they were able to create a system that allows her to speak to her mom, or at least her memory, whenever she wants.”

“Wow.” Ethan sounded stunned. “What do you think she wants?”

“Kara.” The redhead said immediately. “She wants Kara to join some crazy cause she has going right now. She’s calling her out.”

“Will…” Natalie’s voice was pained.

He nodded. “I know. I see her.”

The doctors watched as Kara flew up and faced her aunt. “Astra!”

The woman turned to face her.

“No bodyguards?”

“No knife,” Astra smirked. “No armor. No one besides you and me. Will you talk to me now?”

Kara only stared at her, knowing that her aunt was trying to get inside her head.

Astra shook her head. “You can’t say it’s not fair.”

“We’re done with fair.”

Kara let the heat enter her eyes and sent a blast that knocked Astra back. Flying after her, Kara threw a punch that knocked her down even further as onlookers prepared for the worst.

Astra sent a blast of her own that hit Kara in the shoulder and sent her flying, crashing into the side of a building neighboring the hospital. As Astra flew back a ways, Kara noticed a large piece of the building was falling to the ground, and after a second of being torn on what to do, she sped down and caught it.

Flying back into the air, she gripped the slab and waited as Astra came back into view. When she was almost upon her, Kara whipped it at her aunt, and it knocked the other Kryptonian out of the air, slamming into the concrete just outside the ED doors.

Will, Natalie, and Ethan watched as Kara landed and Astra stood, zipping over to a parked car and kicking it at her niece. The blonde was able to turn it to pieces using her heat vision, but Astra was in front of her when she turned again.

Having been punched in the face, Kara was thrown in the air and spun, landing sprawled on her back. Then Astra stepped over her and looked down at her beloved niece.

“Again. Just like Alura.”

“She was a better woman than you’ll ever be.” Kara defended.

“She was a murderer.”

“Liar.” Will could see that Kara was pissed and wanted to help her but knew it would do more harm than good.

Astra shook her head. “Oh, she called me a liar, too. She had to. Had to make someone else responsible for her deception. And cruelty. And weakness.”

“Come on, Kara,” Will whispered to himself. “Get up.”

“Her only weakness was letting you live!” Between the anger she had towards her aunt and hearing that her brother was so close by, Kara gathered her strength and knocked Astra off her.

The General went flying, landing similarly to her niece, as Kara hovered over her. The blonde then landed and threw multiple punches in rapid succession before shoving her a few feet along the grass.

Walking over to her aunt, Kara lifted her by the collar and prepared to throw a fist but stopped before following through with the action. She hesitated for a moment before her body deflated.

Looking around, she heard sirens wailing as she noticed her brother watching her. She didn’t acknowledge him; they just stared at each other for a moment.

Then she lifted Astra again and flew away.

“My God,” Ethan whispered.

“Do you think she’ll be okay?” Natalie, worried about her new sister, looked up at Will.

His eyes were still focused on where his sister had been standing a moment prior. “I don’t know. I’ve…I’ve never seen her that angry.”

Then he shook his head and sighed. “Come on; we’re about to have an influx of patients.”

The trio turned and got back to work, unable to forget the fight they saw.


	55. Brotherly Pep Talks

Kara frowned as the Roundup door opened, and she came face to face with her team. She knew they were worried about her, but all she wanted now was to be left alone. It had been a long day, and she needed some time alone to work out her feelings.

Heaving a heavy sigh, she gripped her aunt’s arm and dragged her inside, dropping her at their feet. “Here.”

Voight looked at Ruzek and Kevin. “Containment. Now.”

“We’ll call you when she wakes up,” Jay told her.

Turning, Kara walked away. “Don’t. She can rot.”

They watched her go, and Hailey put her hand on Jay’s arm in support. He was worried about his sister, but he didn’t move to follow her. He knew she needed the space and also knew she had dinner planned with Will a few hours from then.

If need be, he would get something out of her then.

* * *

“What?”

Looking up from his drink, Will raised a brow at his sister. “What, what?”

She frowned. “I know you, Will. You have something on your mind. Not to mention the fact that we saw each other earlier. So…out with it.”

He sighed. “First of all, I’m glad your aunt didn’t murder you.”

“Thanks, Will.” Kara rolled her eyes.

“Second, I just…are you okay?” There was concern in his eyes. “Because I saw what you looked like during and after that fight, and you didn’t look okay.”

Slouching back in her seat, the blonde looked away. “Astra was my best friend on Krypton. Then one day, she just…disappeared. Then Krypton died, and I thought that even being gone, she’d been destroyed with it. I was wrong.

“Seeing her now…it hurts, Will. She’s not at all the woman that I remember from my childhood. She’s cruel and horrible. And she is saying all of this terrible stuff about my mother…”

“Hey,” Will leaned forward and captured her hand in his. “We don’t know what happened between your mother and her sister.”

“But, Will…”

“Kara, we can’t know what happened in the past.” He interrupted her. “You know perfectly well that siblings fight, and sometimes, that fighting doesn’t get resolved right away.”

Kara looked up at him sadly. “She sent her to prison, Will.”

He nodded. “I know. Jay filled me in. I’m sorry.”

“I don’t want to believe these things about my mother.” The blonde closed her eyes. “My mother was amazing and thoughtful and kind.”

“I know.”

“What?” Kara’s brow furrowed. “How?”

He smiled now. “Because she raised you.”

“Will.”

“I’m serious.” He left no room for doubt. “You are probably the most amazing person I know, Kara. You have been since the moment Mom and Dad adopted you. Even before you were Supergirl, you wanted what was best for every person you came into contact with, no matter what they might have done. You considered Owen your nephew before Nat and I even started dating; you basically demanded that we consider Winn family; you look at every one of our friends as if they are your siblings or something…

“Kara, you hold this family together. You do that, not Supergirl. That doesn’t happen without having some really great role models. So yeah, no one is perfect. But your mother must have been something pretty incredible because you came out of all that.”

She had tears in her eyes as he finished speaking. “You’re the best.”

He chuckled. “I think we just established that you are, but I’ll take it.”

This gained a laugh from her, and Will felt better about how she felt after that.

“So, Jay told me about what happened at the wedding.”

Now she groaned. “Ugh. It was so bad.”

“I can’t believe he kissed you.” The redhead looked unsure.

Kara shrugged. “I know! But he did. And now everything is messed up.”

“He’ll come around.”

“I wish people would stop saying that.” She shook her head. “I hope he will, but until then, I can’t know for sure what will happen. He’s my best friend, Will, and now he won’t speak to me.”

“He will.” Her brother was adamant.

“Auntie Kara!”

Will watched as she turned and sent Owen a genuine smile. No matter how she was feeling or what happened in her life, she always lit up at the sight of her now-nephew. She loved him more than almost anything in her life, and he was happy that it could give her a minor distraction.

“Well, if it isn’t my little man.” The blonde chuckled as the boy ran over and hugged her. “What are you up to?”

“Playing.” He smiled. “Mommy says it’s bedtime.”

Kara nodded. “Well, that’s no fun!”

He nodded enthusiastically. “Come?”

“I think Mommy wants to help you, buddy…”

“By all means,” Natalie smiled as she walked into the room, Owen’s favorite blanket in hand. “If Auntie Kara is willing to put her favorite nephew to bed, she should feel free. Mommy gets to do it almost every night.”

“Yay!”

Owen cheered, and the joy on Kara’s face helped her brother feel much better than he did when she had first arrived at his house. The newlyweds watched as the blonde made a show of getting up and chasing the boy before sweeping him into her arms. She held him sideways and tickled the section of his stomach that showed when his shirt rode up. He laughed all the way up to the bedroom.

When they knew that she was fully immersed in their son’s bedtime routine, Natalie turned to her husband. “How is she doing?”

The redhead shrugged. “Not great. About as well as I thought, actually.”

“Did she say anything about what happened earlier?” Natalie moved to sit in Kara’s vacant chair.

“Astra is trying to get her to believe her mom was the corrupt one.” He said and nodded at the shock on her face. “I know. It’s cruel and horrible. But I’m guessing she sees it as a war tactic or even like she’s doing Kara a favor. Instead, she’s just tearing her apart even more.”

“Could that be what she wants?” The brunette shrugged. “I mean, if she wants Kara to join whatever cause it is she has, wouldn’t she want to tear her down first and turn her against everyone?”

“That’s not a bad theory…” He trailed off and looked at the stairs. “I’m not sure she knows about us, but I dread the day she tries to use us for that, or worse, as leverage.”

“You think she’d do that?” Natalie thought of her son in bed upstairs and started to worry. “You think she’d use us to get to Kara?”

He nodded. “She’s not above it, obviously. Don’t worry—you know we’d never let anything happen to Owen, and Kara would die before she let Astra get at him. But I talked to Jay earlier about setting up a plan just in case she tries. We’re working on it.”

“Okay.” She sighed. “I trust you guys, and you’re right. Kara wouldn’t let anything happen to us. But that is what scares me.”

“I know.” He agreed. “But we can’t tell her not to do her job. Jay tried that earlier, and it didn’t work. I think having her aunt involved makes her want to fight even more.”

Moving to stand next to him, Natalie massaged the tense muscles in his neck. “Hey…Kara is the strongest person I know, and I don’t just mean that literally. If anyone can handle this and come out kicking on the other end, it’s her.”

He looked up at her and gave her a sad smile. “I love you.”

“You’d better.” She smirked.

He started to say something else when they heard the stairs creak, and Kara entered the room. Her face was pinched, and she looked pained.

“Owen’s asleep.” She told them. “Thank you for letting me spend some time with him tonight.”

Natalie nodded. “Of course. He loves it when you come by. I bet he loved you putting him to sleep.”

They were silent for a moment before Will faced her. “What’s wrong?”

“Jay called.”

“And?” He wanted this whole ordeal to end soon.

She gripped the back of the chair tightly, careful and calculated enough not to break it. “Astra’s awake. She says she’ll only speak to me.”

Natalie moved again and hugged her sister-in-law. “Hey, just remember that no matter what happens, you have us in your corner.”

“Thanks, Nat.” She smiled at the woman before sighing. “I have to go.”

She turned and headed to the front door but stopped when Natalie grabbed her hand. “Text us when you get home, okay? If you need to come back here after, you can. We’ll stay up for either option.”

She knew the Kryptonian wouldn’t take them up on the offer, but as Will could easily see her phone on Find My Friends and locate her whereabouts, she wasn’t overly worried. Instead, she watched her leave and settled in to wait until they could follow her location home.


	56. Twin Confrontations

When Kara arrived at the precinct, she wore her Supergirl suit. Though she knew she would be in the safety of the bunker, she felt better having it on while she faced her aunt again. It was an extra set of armor she could wear that wasn’t just built up around her heart or head.

Walking into the room that held Astra’s cell, she folded her arms over her chest. She knew the team was watching on the monitors from the bullpen. She’d asked them to stay away, and though they respected her need to handle it alone, Voight was only willing to let it go so far.

When she entered, the first sight she saw was Astra seated on the bench staring intently at her spy beacon. As the door opened, the woman immediately stood.

“I’m glad you’re here.”

Kara sneered. “I’m glad you’re back in a cell.”

“You fought well.” Her aunt told her.

The blonde sighed. “You have two minutes.”

In lieu of speaking right away, Astra lifted the spy beacon and held it against the glass. Kara looked at it in shock, not wanting to believe that her aunt had kept it all this time. The hard look on her face softened slightly, and she felt the longing desire to reach out overwhelm her.

“You still have it?” Her voice was quiet.

Astra nodded. “It’s time you knew everything, Kara.

“When I went on the run, I took this with me. I would hold it in my hand to remind myself of why I was turning my back on my family and betraying the high council. It would all be worth it if you survived.”

“Oh, because you cared about me?” Kara was back to guarding her heart. “Did you care about the people you and your fanatic husband killed?”

Up in the bullpen, Ruzek turned to Jay. “Did you know she was married?”

He shook his head and focused back on the image of his sister.

“We did what we had to do.” Astra insisted. “Alura is the one with blood on her hands.”

“My mother was the best woman who ever lived,” Kara shouted at her.

Astra scoffed. “Tell that to those of us who were thrown into that nightmare prison.”

“I think you went crazy in Fort Rozz,” Kara told her. “I think you stared into miles of pitch-black space until everything good inside of you died.”

She turned and started to walk out when Astra replied again.

“You’re how she caught me.”

Kara froze at the words. She didn’t want to believe what her aunt was saying, but that was a heavy accusation.

“That day in your room.” The woman continued. “Was it your idea to message me with the spy beacon, or was it Alura’s?”

_“How could you have done this?” Alura questioned her sister. “You’ve gone against everything our people hold dear.”_

_“Our people will be dead in a year if they continue treating our world like an inexhaustible playground.” Astra tried to get her sister to see reason._

_Alura walked down the steps and stood in front of her sister. “You killed a guard.”_

_“Non did.” The twin said quietly. “It was…and unfortunate necessity.”_

_“Come home with me, Astra. I can plead your case in front of the high council. Non will go to prison for life, but your sentence could be commuted.”_

_“What do I care about prison? We are dying, Alura!” Astra had tears in her eyes. “All of us! Kara is dying. I_ will not _let that happen. I don’t care how many laws I have to break._

_“We used to be on the same side, sister. We can be again.”_

_Alura shook her head. “I cannot be part of your designs.”_

_Astra nodded, having expected that answer. “Then I am sorry.”_

_Now Alura looked pained. “Not as sorry as I am.”_

_Behind her sister, Astra saw two armed guards enter the bedroom. “No. Don’t do this.”_

_Alura sighed. “I have to. I can’t let you hurt anyone.”_

Kara’s brain was moving faster than she ever imagined possible. “I don’t remember that.”

“Your mother signed the death warrants of our entire race, and she used you to do it,” Astra told her, still gripping the spy beacon in hand.

“I don’t believe you.”

“Yes, you do.” Astra was certain. “Much like Krypton, this planet is on the verge of ecological destruction. I can stop it. But the humans won’t like my methods. That’s why I need you; they trust you. Together we can save them.”

The blonde shook her head. “You’re never gonna leave this cell.”

“I am begging you.” The elder Kryptonian was visibly upset and held the spy beacon against the glass once more. “Please help me.”

Instead of responding, Kara hurried out of the room. She’d learned too much information, and her brain felt like it was on overdrive.

“Kara!” Astra cried as she watched her leave. “I love you.”

In the bullpen, Voight looked at Jay. “Jay.”

He nodded and ran out of the room at full speed, knowing the destination his sister had in mind.

* * *

“Kara, wait!”

Jay caught her at the exact moment she stormed into the room that housed her mother.

She ignored him. “Did you use me to get Astra arrested?”

_“Hello, Kara.”_

“Don’t say my name right now.” She demanded. “Did you use me to draw Astra out of hiding?”

Jay stood silently behind her and hoped what Astra had said wasn’t true.

_“Yes.”_

The look on his sister’s face broke his heart.

“How could you do that?” Her voice shook with emotion.

Being a hologram, Alura’s face was emotionless. _“Astra had broken the law. You were the only person she trusted enough to meet. It was necessary.”_

“Could she have saved us?” Now knowing the things her aunt said were true, at least partially, she had to know.

_“She was a criminal.”_

“But what she right?” She shouted, and her voice echoed off the walls.

Jay held his breath and watched the interaction, ready to jump at a moment’s notice. He had over a decade’s worth of knowing Kara’s facial expressions and emotions; he planned on putting all of those instincts to the test.

_“I am not programmed to give you that information.”_

“Tell me!” Her voice got louder.

“Kara…” He moved closer to her as she stepped onto the platform.

_“I’m sorry, I am not programmed to give you that information.”_

“You let everyone that I love die!” Kara screamed and approached the hologram. “You left me! You left me alone! You sent me away! How could you do that?”

_“I am not programmed…”_

Ignoring the emotionless words her mother’s AI spoke, Kara screamed in sorrow and shot her heat vision through her to the wall behind. When it cut off, she was sobbing.

Jay ran and turned off the AI before rushing to grab his sister in his arms as she cried. The sound tore his heart to shreds.

“Hey, hey, hey.” He pulled her to his chest. “It’s not really her.”

“She lied to me.” She cried, letting her tears hit his shoulder.

He pulled back and looked her in the eye. “Kara, that wasn’t your mom. You don’t know what happened then. Only what Astra is telling you now.”

“I know that Astra and I were both given life sentences by my mother.” Then she turned to leave. “We didn’t have a choice.”


	57. Facing Non

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry about the delay. I want to assure everyone that I have not and will not abandon this series. In the upcoming weeks, you will probably see fewer updates from me or at least fewer updates than I have been giving. I have started my fourth class and now have so many projects I don't know what to do with myself.
> 
> My mental health is also suffering, as I am in the middle of switching meds. I am also babysitting my cousins, one of which is a 17-year-old who refuses to get up and do school; instead taking it out on me. So. To say I've been stressed is an understatement.
> 
> Sorry guys. I will work on updating as often as possible but for now, please be patient with me.
> 
> I appreciate it.

Jay sighed as he walked into the bullpen the next morning. It was too early for the rest of the team to arrive, but he wanted to talk to Voight before they did. His sister was hurting, and though they needed to know the hardcore details on how to stop Astra, he wanted to keep as many personal details of her life in her hands as possible.

Seeing his boss in his office, Jay set down his stuff and let himself in. “Hey, Sarge.”

Voight nodded to a seat, which Jay gratefully took. “Hey.”

“How is she?”

Jay sighed and slumped down. “Heartbroken.”

“That’s to be expected. Where is she now?” He knew it was early, but as he knew his detective had stayed at her apartment overnight, he wondered where she was.

“She said she wanted to do a fly-over.” He shrugged. “She said it helps her clear her mind, so I let her go. Not like I could have stopped her, anyway.”

Voight tapped his pen on the desk. “Well, let me know if you guys need anything.”

“Thanks.” Jay shook his head. “You texted me about meeting up. What’s up?”

Voight turned his computer around and showed Jay the footage of Kara’s fight with Astra outside Med the day before. “We analyzed the footage from the fight yesterday. Something’s not adding up.”

“I know.” Jay agreed. “Not a single alien’s come looking for Astra.”

Voight shook his head. “No, in the fight.”

Jay leaned forward so he could watch the replay as Voight spoke.

“Astra beats Kara twice, and then she loses spectacularly.” The man said, and Jay’s stomach clenched at the image of Kara punching her aunt again. “Something’s off.”

Jay nodded as we watched the footage more closely. “Wait a minute. Look.”

“What should I be seeing?” Voight sat up in his chair.

Jay pointed at the screen; his face scrunched. “Astra steps over Kara. That is the most open and weak stance you can take. Astra’s a warrior; she’d know that. She wanted to lose.”

The men looked at each other and stood simultaneously, moving to talk to their captured Kryptonian.

…

Jay’s hand hovered over his gun as he and Voight walked into the room.

“You let Supergirl beat you.” He looked down at the woman who laid on the bench. “Your troops haven’t come looking for you. There’s only one reason for that.”

“Those aren’t their orders.” Voight supplied. “You wanted us distracted while they carried out their real plan. What is it?”

Jay jumped in again. “Let me make something clear. If I have to come in there and beat it out of you, I will.”

Astra lifted her head. “You’re the one who defeated the Hellgrammite. I like you. But it’s too late.”

“For what?” He asked her.

She sat up. “To stop what’s happening right now.”

…

Across town at Lord Technologies, the building was quiet as four Kryptonian soldiers flew through the glass and broke in. They landed hard enough to crack the flooring and marched through the building as the early employees screamed and ran from them.

As Non stepped forward to grab one of the bystanders, Intelligence ran through the door with their weapons raised. “Stop! Stay where you are!”

Glancing at them, he faced his army. “Kill them all.”

Then he shoved into the air and dodged the bullets that they shot at him. As he was wearing his Kryptonite-proof suit, they wouldn’t harm him, but he enjoyed the game of letting them think they stood a chance.

Below them, the army of various Kryptonians and other aliens fought the Intelligence Unit. Even with their specialized training, they struggled to fight the other-worldly beings and feared that their skills weren’t enough to take them on.

It took them a while, but Antonio, Kim, and Ruzek finally managed to surround Non. He knelt, and they rushed him, only to have him stand and throw them off, sending them sprawling along the floor in every direction. Then he moved towards Jay, who ran for one of their guns.

Just before Non could reach him, they heard the sound of more glasses breaking, and Jay felt a gust of wind as Kara flew in. She crashed into Non’s body, and they both skid along the floor, tearing it to pieces.

She continued to punch him as they slid until he threw her off. They hovered in the air across from each other, and everyone under them watched their encounter closely.

“Do you remember me, little girl?” He spoke carefully, his voice condescending.

Kara glared at him. “You’re Non. Astra’s husband.”

“To think that you’re the last daughter of the once-great House of El.” He taunted.

“You’re going to wish I’d died with the rest of them!”

Then they flew at each other, and the impact caused the room to shake. As they grabbed at each other, they flew upwards and broke through the ceiling into the bright morning sky. Once they were in the air, Non was able to get his punches into the fight, causing Kara to groan in pain. She went to throw her own punch when a light and a high-pitched sound filled her ears, and they turned to see an airplane only feet from them.

Moving quickly so that the flying machine didn’t hit them, they hovered until it passed before flying at each other again. Kara tipped him backward, and to her advantage, she was able to send him rushing toward the ground.

Once they reached the concrete, they slammed through the surface and created a massive crater in which they continued to fight. Then Kara moved away from him, allowing him to grab her by the throat and lift her from the ground.

“Astra was wrong about you.” He sneered. “You’re as weak as any human.”

Behind them, Voight hurried out of the building and trained his gun on the villainous Kryptonian. Seeing the sergeant cock his gun, Non dropped Kara and sped to the man.

Jay and Antonio rounded the corner.

“Let him go.”

Non gripped his arm and spun so that he was behind Voight with his arms around him. Then he shot a beam of heat at them before he jumped, and they were gone.

From her spot in the crater, Kara watched them go in fear.


	58. Blood Bonds Us All

“I’m sorry I couldn’t stop them.”

As they stood around the bunker trying to figure out what to do next, Antonio shook his head. “It’s not your fault. They share your powers here.”

“Do we know why they hit Lord Tech?” Kim asked, unsure of how to proceed.

Jay nodded. “The company’s owner, Maxwell Lord, wouldn’t tell us anything.”

“He hates me, and he’s holding it against the team.” Kara shook her head. “That asshole.”

“Okay, well, until Voight is back, I’m in charge,” Antonio told them, and no one argued that fact. “Now I want every satellite we have pointed at this city. Scan it block by block. I want status updates every ten minutes. Get extra tech help if you guys need it.”

“On it.” Kim nodded, and she followed Kevin and Ruzek out of the room.

Kara crossed her arms over her chest. “Maybe I can get Astra to tell me why Non took him.”

“No way.” Jay shook his head. “That isn’t an option.”

“Do you have a better idea?” She asked him, exasperated.

Antonio sighed. “Are you sure you’re up for it? We saw how Astra affected you yesterday.”

“Do we have a choice?”

He let his body deflate, knowing she was right.

Kara nodded and glanced at her brother before walking away from them in the direction of Astra’s room. The group watched her leave, and as she turned the corner, Jay whipped his head back to Antonio.

“What the hell, man?”

“Hey, you know if we had any other option, I wouldn’t have allowed it. But she’s a grown woman and an alien who is fully capable of kicking my ass, so how would you have solved that? Not as a brother, but as someone in charge.”

Jay stared at him in anger before walking a few steps away. “Dammit.”

“Jay, she can handle it,” Hailey told him and held up a hand when he spun around. “I know that yesterday was rough, but your sister is strong. She can do this. Besides, Antonio is right. We don’t have any other option right now.”

Jay groaned. “Yeah, yeah. I know.”

* * *

Astra was sitting on the floor when Kara walked in to talk to her. “Careful, little one. These humans are fond of their Kryptonite toys.”

“Where did Non take Voight?” The blonde demanded.

Astra laughed as she turned to face her niece. “I spent years in Fort Rozz. It’s going to take more than a stern voice to scare me.”

“Maybe I’ll have my cousin come down, and the two of us can force you to talk.”

“Kal-El doesn’t have the stomach for it.” Her aunt seemed amused. “He was raised on Earth. He might as well be human. You are the true heir to the House of El.”

Kara sighed. “If you help me, maybe I can help you.”

“You’re trying to manipulate my emotions.” Astra looked impressed. “But you’re undermined by your own fear.”

“I’m not frightened of you.” Kara was confused.

The brunette shook her head. “Not of me. Of the truth I hold. About your mother.”

Kara scoffed and started to pace. “This has nothing to do with her. This is about saving a man’s life. My mother may not have been the person that I thought she was, but I _know_ what you and Non are.”

“Are you so certain of that?” Astra stared her down. “Did Non kill you today when he had the chance? I ordered him to spare you because blood bonds us all.”

Kara chuckled wryly. “Those are empty words coming from you.”

“If they were, you would not be alive,” Astra assured her.

“If blood bonds us all, then why don’t you just tell me where Voight is?”

Now Astra frowned. “Because blood does not bond us to him.”

“I couldn’t disagree more,” Kara argued. “All life is bonded by blood.”

“You speak of your human family.” The general smirked. “The ones who have caged me in here.”

“You’ve done this to yourself,” Kara told her.

Astra looked down in defeat. “Then you have chosen your side.”

She watched as Kara turned to leave and thought back on the last time her family had betrayed her.

_Astra and Non stood handcuffed in front of the high council, standing trial for their supposed crimes. She couldn’t believe her own sister, her twin, would send her away for trying to save everyone. Especially when that included the young girl they both loved so much._

_“Blood bonds us all,” Alura said to the council. “That ancient proverb comes from a time when Krypton was little more than a wasteland of warring tribes. And although blood is indeed a powerful bond that can unite us, it can also blind us from seeing the truth.”_

_“The people of Krypton choose not to see the truth,” Astra replied, staring directly at her sister._

_Alura walked to her. “Your monstrous plan would have deprived people of their very freedom.”_

_Astra shook her head. “You are deluded, sister. You cling to the belief that people are inherently good. But they are weak. I sought only to give them courage. The courage to save themselves.”_

_“You’re wasting your breath,” Non told his wife before sneering at her sister. “She brands us ‘terrorists’ while standing idly by as our world faces annihilation.”_

_Alura sighed. “Your moral outrage would be far more convincing, Non, if so many had not died as a result of your reckless, delusional actions.”_

_Alura turned and looked over to her husband, grief surrounding her heart. Zor-El nodded to his wife, showing her that he supported her plan and would be there to help her through it._

_Seeing his approval, she moved to a console in the middle of the room. “You give me no choice but to impose the maximum penalty for your crimes. Life imprisonment in Fort Rozz.”_

_As Astra stared at her sister in shock and fear, Non spoke again. “Very soon, Alura, you will realize that you have not condemned us. You have condemned the sons and daughters of Krypton, including your own._

_“Do you hear me, Alura? You have killed your daughter!”_

_Instead of responding to his accusations, she pressed a button, and a light beam filled the room and surrounded the place where he stood. A moment later it dissipated, and he was gone, having been sent to Fort Rozz._

* * *

It was lunchtime when Kara landed back at the precinct. She had left not long after her talk with Astra, needing some time to clear her head. The team knew she had her computer hacking remotely and didn’t argue as she left. Once she had regulated her brain back to a stable level, she dropped onto the stair outside the district and went inside.

“Well, if it isn’t our resident Super.” Platt joked dryly. “How are things?”

Kara dropped a bag of food on her desk as she continued to the gate, buzzing herself into the Intelligence Unit. “I think I liked it better when I didn’t have any blood family alive.”

“Thanks for lunch.” The older woman shrugged.

The blonde nodded and continued up to the unit. Walking over to Jay’s desk, she set the brown bag in front of him and sighed, moving to sit at her own.

“What’s this?” He furrowed his brow as he opened it.

“Lunch.” She plopped into her chair. “I know you forget to eat when you’re stressed, so I stopped by that pub you like.”

His eyes went wide. “The one in Ireland?” Kara nodded. “You are my favorite person.”

Before he could eat it, a loud sound filled the bullpen, and all of their computers changed, showing Non’s image. “This is Lieutenant Non of Krypton. We each possess someone of great value to the other. I propose a trade.”

“This is Detective Antonio Dawson. Excuse me if I don’t take you at your word.” Antonio said to his computer, where he watched Non’s image. “I need proof of life. I need to hear from Voight himself.”

Raising a brow at their friend, Non stepped aside to show Voight tied up in a chair behind him. The room was dark and gave the team no indication of where they might be hiding. Kara saw Kim move silently around the wall to her desk and nodded slightly, telling her it was okay to try and find the feed on her computer.

“Antonio.” Voight’s voice was slow but sounded normal. “Congratulations on your promotion.”

“We will bring you back safe, Hank.” He assured their boss.

Now Non as back. “Which will only happen if you do exactly as I say. I will return Sergeant Voight unharmed if you return General Astra safely to me. You have forty-eight hours or your man dies.”

Then he was gone, and the screens returned to normal.

Kara looked at Jay and shook her head. “Now we know why Non took Voight.”

“So, what are we going to do?” Kevin wondered.

Kim sighed. “I couldn’t locate them. There was some sort of interference.”

Antonio groaned. “If I turn down the deal, Non kills Voight. If I go through with it, I free a criminal with the strength of Supergirl.”

“Which is why that will not be happening.”

Turning to look at the stairs, everyone stood and watched as Mayor Lane and his team entered the bullpen.

“Mayor Lane.” Antonio tilted his head.

“Pleasure to see you again, Detective Dawson.” He gloated.

“Wish we could say the same,” Kara told him with a frown. “What can we do for you?”

“I have been granted authority over this unit by order of the President.” He told them. “As your sergeant is gone, I am the next person qualified enough to handle alien matters such as these.”

Grabbing the file from Lane, Antonio narrowed his eyes. “This feels like a coup.”

“Nothing so nefarious.” The man assured them. “Considering the stakes, Washington wants a commander in place without any personal ties to the hostage. My orders are to locate the alien garrison and return Sergeant Voight safely to his post.”

“The unit is yours, sir,” Antonio told him reluctantly, and everyone could see the anger on his face.

* * *

“Order 75!”

Moving to the pickup counter, Kara handed the guy her receipt. “Thanks, Phil.”

“That’s quite the order.” He told her as he handed her the bags of food. “You guys have more people in your unit now?”

She internally winced as she thought about the two extra orders of potstickers she’d ordered for herself. “Yeah, something like that.”

Leaving the restaurant, she handled the bags with the ease of super strength and was halfway back to the district when her phone rang. Shifting the bags so that she could grab it from her pocket, she frowned as she saw the name on it.

“Trudy?”

 _“Kara, you need to get back here right now.”_ She told the girl.

Hearing the urgency in her voice, Kara ran.


	59. Torturing Astra

The dark atmosphere of Astra’s cell brightened suddenly as the locked doors of her room opened to reveal Mayor Lane. She stood as he walked in and faced him through the glass.

“My name is Samuel Lane. I’m the mayor of this city.”

Astra smirked. “I wonder how many of your fellow humans you had to kill in order to achieve such a rank. And yet you call me a threat.”

Shaking his head as though he had expected the comment, Lane paced around the outside of her cell. “When I was a little boy, my daddy used to take me and my sister to the movies. Saw a picture called _The Day the Earth Stood Still_. It was about an alien, like yourself, who came to Earth and threatened to destroy it if human beings didn’t change their wicked ways.

“I had nightmares for months. And do you know that still, today, when I look at you, I am right back in that old theater. Afraid.”

“On Krypton, it is a show of great strength to admit one’s fears to an enemy,” Astra told him sincerely, her face sincerely sympathetic.

Lane nodded. “Which is why I told you. I wanted you to know that, by your world’s standards, I am a man of honor. And I take no pleasure in what comes next.”

He moved slightly so that the head of his security detail could move forward and open the briefcase in his hands. Astra became alarmed and moved to the back of her cell at the sight of a syringe and liquid Kryptonite, now understanding their intentions.

As the glass door to her cell opened, two officers rushed in, and she threw as many punches as she could before they were able to grab her and knock her to her knees. Pulling her head back by her hair, they held her steady as Lane’s head officer grabbed the syringe and moved forward.

“Now, you are going to tell me the location of your base,” Lane told her. “The only question is whether you tell me before we start or after.”

The door slid open behind him again, and he turned to see Kara and Jay standing there.

“What are you doing?” Kara hurried inside the room, but the amount of Kryptonite affected her to the point that she swayed and groaned in pain.

Lane was furious. “You can’t just come in here like that.”

“He’s right,” Jay told her as he helped her stand. “The lights, the Kryptonite’s weakening you.”

Kara struggled against him and inched closer to her aunt. Collapsing on the ground next to Lane, she felt her lip quiver at the sight of her aunt in pain.

“This is who you choose to side with?” Astra asked her. “Against your own people? Your own family?”

“Stop it!” The blonde shouted at Lane. “You’re hurting her!”

He looked down at her unsympathetically. “I’m sorry, was she more forthcoming when you asked nicely?”

Jay glared at them. “There’s another way to save Voight.”

“We are not releasing a combatant of this threat level.” Lane looked at him. “You’re a soldier, Detective Halstead; you know how this works.”

Seeing that Astra was now in tears as the Kryptonite came closer to her neck, Kara gasped. “Mister Mayor, we are better than this!”

“We are. They aren’t.” He told her before looking at Jay. “Get her out of here.”

“No, don’t!” She screamed as Jay lifted her to her feet. “Don’t!”

As Lane’s officer slid the syringe into Astra’s skin, she screamed, and Kara followed suit with tears flowing from her eyes. Shifting his grip, Jay wrapped his arm around her stomach and lifted her, carrying her out of the room as she cried.

* * *

From his spot in the kitchen, Will observed his sister carefully.

After her encounter with Lane, Jay had called Will, and they convinced her to go to his house for dinner until it was safe to enter the precinct again. She’d curled up in one of their armchairs the second she arrived and hadn’t moved since. Natalie had draped a blanket over her lap not long after and had started making small talk with her.

Other than that, she hadn’t spoken.

Glancing at his wife as he walked back into the room, Will handed Kara her mug of coffee before sitting next to Natalie on the couch.

“I don’t know what I would’ve done.”

Both doctors looked up in shock as she spoke.

“I mean, I know Astra’s made bad decisions, but…” She trailed off and looked down at the warm mug in her hands.

“She’s still family.” Natalie nodded in understanding.

“Right.” Kara sighed. “That’s my problem. Is there something wrong with me?”

“Yes.” Will winced as Natalie smacked him. “Ow! Would you let me finish?”

Kara rolled her eyes but did manage a smirk.

“As I was saying, yes, there is something wrong with you. But it’s the same thing that’s wrong with all of us.” He leaned forward, so he was closer to her. “You care about your family, Kar. It doesn’t matter if we’ve done something horribly wrong or not; you know that they don’t deserve to be tortured.”

“Lane had no sympathy.” She looked at them in disbelief. “He says that we are better than this, but he did it anyway.”

“Yeah, well, his time will be up soon enough,” Natalie told her.

Kara shrugged. “How do we know the guy running against him is any better?”

“Henshaw?” Will shook his head. “I mean, he’s been pro-alien since your cousin appeared, so that has to count for something.”

“I hope so.” The alien agreed and shifted as her phone rang, hitting the speaker button. “Hello?”

 _“Astra gave up Non’s location,”_ Jay said, forgoing any pleasantries. “ _We’re mobilizing now to get Voight.”_

Kara sent a confused look at Will and Natalie. “Astra would never betray her soldiers or her husband.”

Jay sighed. _“If there’s a chance to save Voight, we have to take it.”_

“Then I’m coming with you.”

Hanging up, Kara set her mug on the table and ripped the blanket off her lap. As she rushed to the front door, the worried couple ran after her.

“Kara, wait!”

Natalie grabbed her hand. “Please be careful.”

“What she means to say is don’t do anything stupid,” Will said firmly. “I know you want to save everyone, but we can’t lose you.”

“I know, Will.” She pulled her dress off and stood before them in her blue suit. “But I still can’t make any promises.”

Then she bent her legs and shot into the air. Looking down, Natalie crouched and grabbed the fabric from their entryway. Then, sending her husband a sad look, she walked away to throw it in the laundry.

She couldn’t help much with the current situation, but she could help keep her sister-in-law’s clothes from being destroyed.


	60. Faith

The city's quiet darkness was interrupted as SWAT cars rushed into a warehouse location filled with shipping crates at the Port of Chicago. They sped into their specified positions with their weapons drawn, some already aiming from the vehicles’ open windows, and waited for further instructions.

Back in the bunker, Mayor Lane was watching from their security feed. “Echo Team, you are clear for weapons-free engagement.”

As they disembarked from their cars, Kara flew above them and noticed that the only friendly face she saw was Jay’s. She assumed Antonio knew she’d join the group and knew that Jay would be the best suited to help her out, so he fought for his man to join SWAT on their mission.

As Jay had the same tactical skills and training, it would have been hard for Lane to argue against it.

“Sir, Supergirl’s on-site.” The team leader radioed back to him as he watched her fly over the crates.

“What the hell is she doing there?” Lane asked and turned to face Antonio. “This is a human recovery mission.”

Jay shook his head at the man’s ignorance. “I called her.”

The team came to a halt and waited as Kara landed in front of them, speaking directly to her brother. “The containers are lined with lead. I can’t see through them.”

Jay glanced at the team leader and waited as he gave the order. “Alright, Echo Team. Check those containers and check your six.”

As everyone walked to the surrounding crates, Kara nodded at Jay. She turned and walked up the ramp to the container directly behind them and listened as both men followed her. Using her heat vision to melt the lock, she moved forward and yanked the doors open.

Sitting at the back of the container was their boss. “Voight.”

The trio moved forward instantly until something in Kara’s brain screamed ‘danger,’ and she paused. The image flickered and faded away, revealing Kryptonian devices in its stead.

“Bomb,” Jay shouted, and they turned to run.

“No!” Kara knew they wouldn’t make it in time, so she grabbed the backs of their jackets and sped forward.

Throwing the team leader as far away from the crate as she could, she crouched as it exploded and threw her cape around Jay as she wrapped an arm around him to keep him close. She knew it would protect him from the blast and held him tightly to her side.

The Intelligence Unit watched from inside the bunker, fear on their faces as the cameras were blinded a moment from the light of the blast. Then the light faded, and they saw everyone on the ground.

Groaning as he sat up, the SWAT team leader looked around and walked to meet the siblings on the ramp. “My men…”

Kara sighed as she looked, seeing everyone else had succumbed to the explosions from the surrounding containers. She felt terrible for the man in front of her, as well as their families. She also felt anger towards her aunt and Mayor Lane.

“It was a trap.” Jay gasped as he tried to catch his breath and looked up at her. “Astra played us.”

Shaking her head, the blonde followed them away from the scene and prepared to face Lane and their team again.

* * *

Platt watched as Kara paced in the bullpen. She’d been waiting for them when the team returned and had sent Jay down to deal with the team so she could have a moment alone with the distraught girl.

“That man is evil.”

Platt sighed. “Kara, he’s just doing what he thinks is right. Granted, he is completely off base, but-”

“No, no, I see it now.” She told her mentor. “And I will do whatever it takes to stop him.”

“Kara…you’re sounding an awful lot like Astra.”

“Yeah, what if she’s not so wrong?” Kara shouted.

She moved to head down to the bunker, but Platt managed to get in front of her and block the door.

“Get out of my way.” The blonde demanded.

“If you go after Lane like _this_ , then you know what, you’re just proving him right. That you are no different from Astra or Non.”

“What if I’m not so different?”

The grey-haired woman shook her hair and lowered her voice. “You have to be, Kara. Because if you aren’t, then we lose.”

“You don’t understand, Trudy. I feel like I lost everything.” Her voice quivered and was nearly a whisper. “I can’t stop Lane. Or get through to Astra. I can’t rescue Voight or salvage what I had with Winn. Even the memory of my own mother, the one thing I could always count on, is ruined.

“I have nothing left. I don’t know what to do anymore. I have all these powers, but I’ve never felt more powerless.”

“Hey. Kara.” Platt moved to her and grabbed her hand. “It’s going to be okay. Even when things look the bleakest, heroes find a way.”

* * *

As Jay and Antonio spoke to Lane, Kara took that moment to approach her aunt again. Though she was beyond angry with her, she knew she needed to try something different if they were ever going to find Voight alive.

Waiting as the doors opened, she entered the room and saw that Astra had her back turned to her.

“They sent you back to try again.” The woman guessed. “What makes you think it’ll be any different this time?”

“Because now I’m ready to hear what you have to say,” Kara told her. “I was afraid to listen before. But today, I got so upset, I couldn’t think. I didn’t want to. I just wanted to hurt someone. Because I was afraid of losing everything that mattered to me.

“Like you must have felt back home.”

Astra turned to face her, waiting for her niece to continue.

“But if we have any hope for the future, we can’t let our fear control us. We have to be better.”

The brunette shook her head. “You give me too much credit.”

Kara sat on the side of the cell, pressing herself as close to the glass barrier as she could get. “Because I know the real you.”

“The woman you knew died on Krypton.” She had tears in her eyes.

Kara shook her head. “I still have faith there’s good in you.”

Astra shook her head again and cradled her knees to her chest. “I am not worth your faith.”

“Everyone deserves faith, Astra. Even you.” Kara said seriously. “Now tell me what happened on Krypton. The truth.”

Her aunt stared at her for a moment before letting out a sigh and starting her story.

_“Astra, please look at me.” Astra listened to her sister’s plea from behind her back. “I believe you. I believe Krypton faces annihilation. And far sooner than anyone here will admit.”_

_She turned to face her sister. “Then why condemn me?”_

_“Because you killed people, Astra.” Alura reminded her. “No matter what noble goals you hid behind, nothing will ever change that fact. And I am bound by more than blood in this court. But I promise you, I will fight for your cause, not through fear and manipulation, but through compassion and reason._

_“It is the only hope to save our world.”_

_Touching her sister’s face, Alura’s lip quivered as the woman looked away from her. Then she turned and walked over to the button._

_“I love you, Astra.”_

_She hit the button before she could change her mind and let her tears fall as she watched her sister vanish into the Phantom Zone._

“Your mother never stopped believing in me,” Astra told her niece as they sat on the floor together. “You are so much like her, Kara.”

Blinking away the tears that formed in her eyes, Kara sniffled and looked at her aunt. “It’s not too late, Astra. Please tell me where Voight is.”

“The only way to save him is to make the trade.” She said honestly. “The humans will never agree to that.”

Standing from her spot, Kara sighed. “Then it’s a good thing I’m not human.”

* * *

Astra walked between her niece and Jay, her hands gripped tightly in Kryptonite handcuffs. Looking around as they entered the bunker, she laid eyes on Mayor Lane and watched as he turned to face them.

“What do you think you’re doing?” He questioned them.

Kara held onto her aunt but took a step forward. “Making a prisoner exchange.”

“The hell you are.” He told her, and his security team raised their weapons, aiming for them.

Behind them, Kim and Ruzek raised their own guns.

“Let them pass, sir,” Antonio told him as he, Hailey, and Kevin walked up to join them.

“That alien is the enemy, Detective Dawson,” Lane told them.

He shook his head. “Your orders were to bring Sergeant Voight home. That’s what they’re doing.”

They started to walk out again, but Lane stopped them. “You take one more step, and my men will put you down.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that.” Kara shook her head and shifted her gaze to the SWAT team leader that had stayed on to help them find Voight.

He hesitated for only a moment before lowering his weapon and looking at Lane. “She saved my life, sir.”

Then he ordered everyone else to lower their weapons and nodded at Kara. They watched as Intelligence marched the Kryptonian prisoner out before Lane spoke one final time.

“How do you know Non and his army won’t betray you?”

“I don’t.” She told him. “But I have faith.”


End file.
